Dimensional travels
by sheelaflower
Summary: The Metarex are defeated and peace is restored. At least, that's what Sonic thought. For the first time in his life, he's happy about a brake. If only it had lasted a bit longer. Only, adventure is the legendary hedgehog's middle name. But never would he have thought that this new adventure would take him and all his friends, especially Amy, to their limits and maybe even beyond.
1. A fight, a fox and hedgies

**Okay, here it is! My first chap of my first STH fanfic rewritten! I was planning to do this for a while after Elise gave me that hint. Of course, Violett still appears a bit suddenly, but I hope it's better than how it used to be. Thanks to Speedlion for coming up with this! You're a great pal. Anyways, let's start the story!**

**I do not own Sonic the hedgehog. All rights belong to Sega!**

**&"&"&"&"**

A fight, a fox and hedgies

Sometimes, two people meet. They don't even have to be people, they can be two totally different creatures who usually have nothing to do with each other. And then, they don't part ever again. If they do, the hearts of the two will forever be filled with sorrow. Two people, two creatures, two life forms that meet, are destined for each other. Every creature in the world has such a counterpart. But even if they are destined for each other, they sometimes never meet or destiny will tear them apart. Of course, you can fall in love with another, but it will never be as strong and binding as with the true counterpart. There will forever be a hole in every living creature that has never met him or her. This story is about such destined love, about the magic inside every person, about friendship and trust and much, much more.

One of the many stories in this story is about a young fox; a fox that also carries the burden of not being with his destined love. He has already met her, but death and perhaps destiny has pulled them apart. Even worse, the young fox was forced to kill his beloved one in order to save the rest of the universe. The fox would have definitely chosen his love over the world, but it was because he loved her that he was able to kill her. She was the only one able to stop the enemy and our young fox knew that she would never have been happy if he hadn't done it. She would have blamed herself forever that the world went down. But even with this knowledge, it takes an incredibly strong heart to do what that young fox had done. Yes, Miles Prower, his friends' called him Tails, had the strongest heart amongst all his friends. And yet, the burden is still there, bigger than that of any other person who is not with his destined one. Ever since Tails had lost Cosmo, he has not been the same. He stayed away from his machines he used to take so much care of and was always near trees and plants. He looked after the little garden in front of his house with lots of tenderness, although he hadn't laughed or even smiled and had hardly talked to anybody since. However, all of this was about to change; Tails spirit was about to return.

Like often, Tails was in his garden again and looked sadly at a plant he tried to take care of, though it welted after only a few days. He had tried his best to take good care of it, since the flower reminded him of Cosmo. But it didn't last. Just like his love, this flower had welted in its own way. Tails was close to tears. It didn't matter how strong his heart was, Tails was still a child and children cry. Next to that, letting yourself cry is one sign of strength. The sadness, the hole, the pain … it was there and it would never leave. Everything Tails had left of his love was a seed. Tails was glad she had left anything at all. He was glad he had something that would remind him of her. But he wanted more, which is why he planted the flower and which is why he was so sad that it welted. Tails was sitting there for a long time, just looking sadly at the welting plant.

But piece was not meant to last. Tails just so happened to be the best friend of the legendary hero of Mobius, who also just happened to have quite a number of foes. And the probably most annoying foe of all was Dr. Ivo Robotnik, Aka Eggman. Some would have said he came out of the blue, others would have said it was totally predictable, but he came in his Egg Mobile, with a plan up his sleeve. Tails ears twitched when he heard Eggman approaching and he turned around to face him.

"It's been a while, hasn't it?" Eggman laughed. "It's been way too peaceful here, so I decided to lure Sonic out of his corner by attacking you! What do you say to that plan?"

Tails didn't say anything. He just looked at Eggman, his expression not changing even the slightest bit, making Eggman's grin turn from a grin to a frown all the way down to a scowl. Angrily, he pressed a few buttons of his machine, making one small canon appear on each side.

"What do you say now? I'll fire these and you'll have to fight!"

Still, Tail's expression didn't change. He didn't care anymore. Whether Eggman killed him or not, whether Sonic would come or not … he didn't care anymore. Eggman could do what he wants. Eggmann noticed Tails still didn't react and his scowl turned into a snarl.

"Very well then!" He spat. "Have it your way!"

And he fired eight missiles.

Tails did not give any signs of moving. He merely closed his eyes, waiting for the missiles to hit him and bring him to Cosmo. Closer and closer they came and there was no sign of Sonic anywhere. Only a few more seconds and he would be dead. Eggman started panicking as well. He had relied on Tails evading, on Sonic appearing, on anything to happen. He never had the real intention to hurt anyone. He hadn't planned on letting Tails die. But no one came. Tails was going to die.

Then, Tails opened his eyes.

What he saw there was not what any of the two had foreseen. The very first thing Tails noticed was bright and strong purple light, filling the whole area. The next thing he saw was a shadow and the creature that caused the shadow, but what exactly it was he could not determine even though it stood right in front of him. He then saw that the purple light held off the missiles and their explosions, but with every missile hitting the wall of light and exploding against it, the wall got weaker and the creature buckled a bit more.

The barrier held six missiles; the seventh explosion broke it and made the creature fall back on Tails while eight missiles went at the two without any barrier to block them. But it never hit. Tails felt the weight from the creature lifted of him and straightened up to see what's going on. The missile was surrounded by turquoise aura and even though it went full speed, it didn't move an inch. Next to him, he heard heavy panting and remembered that someone had saved him. He turned to around to look at the person and saw something he never expected to see; a female, purple hedgehog.

Her spines were in combed down in Amy's style, only were they much longer and thinner. The front two spines were tied back and held by a weird crown with a jewel on front. A white dress with a bit of turquoise on it, looking like a wedding gown if it hadn't been for the weird symbols on the turquoise parts, covered most of her body. Its sleeves were long and wide as was its fall. The female's hands were stretched out in front of her, a golden ring floating at the tip of her fingers. Her face was strained with concentration; sweat was dripping of her face. Whatever she was doing, she held the missile where it was, saving both their lives. But it was more than obvious she wouldn't be able to keep it up much longer. Her exhaustion grew by the second, her concentration fade and her hold on the deadly weapon slip away. But Tails couldn't help. Even if he wanted to, there wouldn't have been any way for him to help. He hadn't been able to save Cosmo; he wouldn't be able to save the purple one either.

The female closed her eyes, gathering all her strength to keep the missile were it was. Pushing it away would have been out of question, she lacked that strength. But no matter how hard she tried, she started losing her grip on it and slowly, death made its way towards her. A split second and all three knew nobody would die today when, a blue ball shot right through the missile, destroying it completely. The female broke her concentration and fell to the ground in exhaustion.

The blue ball meanwhile had opened itself, landing right on the floating seat that caused all this drama. All foxes and humans and hedgehogs looked at what used to be the ball.

"Missed me, Eggman?" Sonic asked in all his blue glory, his usual cocky grin plastered in his face.

"Now look who it is! Came to spoil my plans again, Sonic?"

"Well, it's not like there's anything more fun to do these days."

"How very true. And there's nothing more fun for me then to watch you fall into your own grave!"

Sonic didn't quite know what his arch-enemy was talking about, but both, Tails and the female beside him did. While Sonic and Eggman were talking, Eggman had flown upwards to a height where not even Sonic could jump off the Egg Mobile without taking any harm. And while Sonic still tried to figure it out, Eggman merely made a roll in midair, throwing Sonic of the ship.

"WHOOAAAA" He yelled, not quite ready for his head to say hello to the floor.

Next to Tails, the female moved again, using the same turquoise aura she had used before to catch Sonic's fall. She grunted and buckled under Sonic's weight, but enabled him a soft landing nonetheless, before falling back on floor. While all that happened, Eggman hadn't waited for Sonic to recover and had shot a beam right at Sonic and his savior. Sonic noticed and jumped out of the way, taking the female with him.

"So, who do I have the honor of fighting with?" Sonic asked while evading one shot after the other, the female in his arms.

"It's a sign of good manners to introduce yourself first", was the answer Sonic got.

"Sure thing, lady. I'm Sonic! Sonic the hedgehog."

"Violett Ocean the hedgehog! Very pleased to meet you"

Sonic set her down now that they were in a safe place, but Violett had already recovered and so went to fight with Sonic.

"That went fast", Sonic grinned while dodging another energy blast.

"I recover quickly."

"So what was that whoodoo thing you saved me with?"

"It's called telekinesis. It's the ability to move objects through a mix of concentration and a special kind of magic."

"Sounds cool."

"Perhaps, but my telekinesis is rather weak. It merely surpasses my physical strength by a minimum while the average telekinesis is three to fifteen times the physical strength."

"Bummer."

"Not really! I am a mage so I have a lot of other powers as well."

"You're a what?"

"A mage. That is the short cut for magician."

"You mean something like a witch?"

"Yes, something like that."

"Cool!"

While Violett and Sonic chatted, evading one blast after another, Eggman almost went crazy with frustration. He shot one beam after another and at some point, even shot more than one at a time. That went on until Eggman was out of the energy he needed for the blasts. He cursed so badly, Sonic started feeling a bit uncomfortable, until Eggman started firing laser shots at the two hedgehogs and he shot plenty of them at a time.

"Aww, come on", Sonic said, his ears dropping. How would he be able to dodge that many lasers at once?

"Focus!" Violett suddenly commanded. "Look at the laser canons and you'll notice a pattern in the shots. That makes it easier to evade."

Sonic did as he was told and soon enough, he had no problems dodging the lasers either. Not until the two subconsciously moved towards Tails again did any of them have any problems. When Tails was also in shooting range, Eggman fired a whole lot of mini missiles. None of them actually hit Tails, but he noticed one of the missiles flying straight at his flower.

Not having enough time to react, he could only watch as the missile approached his most valuable flower. Sonic may not have noticed, but Violett did. Her eyes narrowed and before anyone knew what was going on, the missile exploded right in front of the flower, leaving it unharmed.

"What on earth …" Sonic murmured and even Eggman stopped firing missiles.

Every single eye was on Violett, who stood upright, looking directly at Eggman. For a few seconds, there was nothing but silence until Violett talked.

"Alright", she said. "It is time I put an end to this."

Violett stretched her arms to the side and hundreds of little light balls appeared around her body. Eggman first flinched at the sight of that, but then decided to shot all his remaining mini missiles at the new purple pest. Violett moved both her arms forward and all the light balls shot towards the approaching mini missiles. They collided and exploded. But Violett had more light balls then Eggman had missiles and so, about thirty missiles appeared out of the dust the explosions had created, heading straight towards Eggman only to stop right in front of his face. Eggman was so shocked he was unable to breathe, let alone move.

"Perhaps you should get out of here. You wouldn't want to get hurt, now would you?"

Eggman grit his teeth but did not dare to move until Violett made the light balls disappear. Then he turned around and flew off as fast as possible.

"You'll regret this!" He yelled while he disappeared.

Even after Eggman left, neither Sonic nor Tails dared to move. Violett was not affected by this atmosphere however, and turned around to Tails' little flower. She touched it and closed her eyes, concentrating for a moment. While doing this, the flower regained color and slowly, it even straightened back up. And still, both boys were speechless.

"How did you do that?" Tails finally spoke.

"**§"§"§"§**

**Just to make that clear: This history of this story is based only on Sonic X. None of the games, other series or Comics have anything to do with it until I decide to bring them in, which won't be happening for quite some time. What happened before Sonic X or between the episodes is completely made up by me**. **I ignored the ending where Tails was smiling again, because my story wouldn't fit otherwise. Hope that's okay with you.**


	2. The mecha and the mage

**Sonic: Hey there, folks. Get ready for a new awesome adventure from super cool me**

**Me: Cool it, will ya? I'm the author here.**

**Sonic: So what? I'm still the fastest thing alive.**

**Me: True! But still, while I'm the author, I can let anything happen. I can even make Tails go back to his normal self.**

**Sonic: You can do that?**

**Me: Of course …**

**Sonic: Then go on with the story already! Sheelaflower does not own Sonic the hedgehog, which is me, nor any of its other Characters.**

The mecha and the mage

"How did you do that?" Tails finally spoke.

Eggman was gone and the threat for Tails flower went with him. The new girl on the scene, a purple hedgehog called Violett, had saved Tails from death before being saved herself by Sonic. After Eggman had left, giving a promise of regret, Violett went to Tails flower and brought it back to life.

And now that everything was quiet again, the two almost brothers had a better chance to look at the purple hedgehog. For the first time, they saw her mist-blue eyes, but only Tails was able to read the emotions in them; emotions so strong and painful he started wondering if he had suffered at all since the thing with the Metarex. Then there was the gracefulness in her movements, in the way she talked, even in her pure presence but also something next to that … some kind of creepiness. She looked older then Tails or Sonic, probably somewhere between 17 and 20, maybe even older. The ring that Tails had noticed earlier was now tied around her neck, hanging loosely on a simple thread.

"I inserted my own life energy into it." Violett explained with a gentle smile on her lips.

Sonic did not know if he wanted to be there, but he knew two things; that the two of them should definitely be left alone for now and that he wanted to know what exactly Violett meant with what she just said there. But he chose to give Tails some privacy and so, he slowly made his way along the beach, making sure to disappear from the fox and the hedgehog's sight.

"That's a very special plant to you, isn't it?" Violett asked.

Tails merely nodded.

"So young and you have already found love…"

Tails ears twitched and he looked at Violett with a shocked expression. How could she have known? He had just met her and up to that one question right now, he had not yet talked to her at tall.

"You're confused, aren't you?" Violett asked again. "You don't understand how I know things that you haven't told me."

"How do you know all that?" Tails asked again.

"A person's past and emotion are revealed easily. Emotions are easy to read, someone's past only if it has brought fourth strong enough feelings. I can read that past in your movements. I can see it in your eyes and hear it in your voice."

Tails looked at Violett in awe. Could you really do that? It seemed like something close to impossible to him, being able to know somebody's past just by looking at them. And yet, Violett knew. Even more, when Tails looked at her eyes, he saw pain in them. Pain, sorrow, sadness, loneliness and so much more. That could only mean that Violett had not had a very happy life so far. Perhaps even something similar to what happened to him had happened to her as well?

"I do guess you know my name already, but in case you don't, I'll say it again; I am Violett Ocean the hedgehog. May I know your name?"

"Tails", Tails simply answered.

"Oh? Tails is a cute name and if you want to, I'll call you that. But perhaps you could also tell me your real name? I would feel better if you did."

Again, Tails' eyes went wide as he looked at Violett, awe almost swimming in his eyes. Was there anything you could hide from that hedgehog? Anything at all? Tails doubted it.

"My real name is Miles Prower. But I don't like that name. I like being called Tails better."

"Then I will call you Tails." Violett smiled.

For a while there was silence. Violett just sat there, smiling at Tails and Tails looked to the ground, not daring to look up. Both knew the silence would be broken and both knew who the one to break it would be. Because even though Tails had not talked much with anybody lately, Violett was not anybody. She could look into him and she would know without him telling her. She would make him feel uncomfortable enough to get him to talk.

"Do you know how to keep it alive?" Tails asked, looking at the plant.

"It needs a lot of sun. Usually, it grows on wide fields where only night and the shadow of clouds can reach it. Here, it's in the reach of another shadow source, so it cannot survive."

Another shadow source … Tails looked around, searching for something that could make a shadow fall on the little plant and discovered his own house, which had taken a bit of damage from the fight with Eggman. Immediately, Tails went to work, wanting to plant the delicate little flower out of shadow's reach. You could not say that he was fast with work like this. If he were good with flowers, none of his special ones would have welted.

"You're not good with flowers, are you? You're talents lie elsewhere and you know it. Why are you looking after them instead?"

Tails didn't answer.

"I guess you that I know that know you lost her. But that's not all there's to it, am I right?"

These words made him remember. Tears welled up in Tails eyes at the memory of that day. When she was still the cutest and most beautiful plant-girl he had ever seen; when she changed into the most beautiful tree Tails had ever seen; when she begged him to kill her. How could he have said no? And yet, why had he said yes to a crazy bid like that? The last memory of Cosmo when her soul came to say goodbye. When Sonic came with the seed in his hand, saying that that was all that was left …

"I killed her …" he whispered more to himself then to Violett. "I fired that canon."

That was shocking, even for Violett. It didn't matter what she thought she might hear; it certainly wasn't this. A ten year old boy killing somebody was bad. A ten year old boy loosing somebody was bad. A ten year old killing somebody he loved was more then awful.

"By accident?"

"On purpose."

Silence. For a long time, there was nothing but silence. Even Violett did not know what to say any longer. What could possibly have happened to make somebody kill his own love? She knew of Sonic's Metarex mission, but not in detail. She knew they had travelled through space, she knew Sonic had had a lot of help with him; she knew he had put his life on the line to save the dimension … but she didn't who and how many had died along the way.

"Why?" She asked.

Tails looked up again. It was a change in Violett's voice that caused this. This question was different then all the others she had asked. The moment Tails noticed this, he knew the reason why. She neither knew, nor did she understand.

"Why would you kill someone you love? What could possibly make you do that?"

Tails hesitated. Should he really tell her? Should he tell Violett, a complete stranger, the only thing he knew no one would ever understand? Should he tell her the only thing she didn't understand?

"All this time, she felt like she was useless; like there was nothing she could do to help; like she was nothing but a burden. When she was able to keep the Metarex at bay, she was so happy that she could finally be of use. When she asked me to shoot, she no longer cared if she would die or not. She wanted to help us with all her might; she wanted us all to live. Not shooting … choosing her life over the universe … it would have destroyed her."

Tails must have been insane to have told her this, but it had been done. Tails could no longer change that. Meanwhile, the look in Violett's eyes changed from confusion to awe and respect.

"How could I have said no? To that beautiful and perfectly happy face when she found she could help us with this … how could I have said no?"

Tails felt Violett's eyes resting on him. He knew she understood. He knew she understood the reason he had done that; he knew she understood why he could not talk to anybody about this; he knew she understood why she was the one he entrusted his story to. He knew she understood. He had needed somebody to understand. Everybody, even Sonic claimed they understand … they didn't. Violett did. And somehow, she had made him feel that. And now that he was understood, Tails felt better. Only a tiny bit, but still better.

"You have a strong heart Tails. One of the strongest I have ever met."

Tails looked at Violett. He wanted to ask her what she meant by that. He wanted to understand. He opened his mouth, but he never got to ask the question. Because that very moment, Sonic appeared behind Violett, taking a strong wind with him. It almost made Tails fly back a bit, but Violett seemed to not have been affected by it at all. She stood back up, her smile back on her face and her expression back to normal.

"Hey there!" Sonic greeted.

"I see you're back", Violett said standing up. Tails followed her example and stood up as well.

"Are you done talking yet?"

"Yes, we are. Thank you for granting us that privacy", Violett smiled sweetly.

"Anytime, anytime. Want me to show you a bit of our home?" Sonic asked.

"I would love to. Perhaps Tails could come along with us?"

Tails looked at Violett for a few seconds and then stood up, running to Violett's side. The trio walked along the beach first, where Violett noticed that Sonic stayed as far from the water as possible. He even seemed afraid of it. They went through mystic ruins, which was a very interesting place for Violett. She had read about the ancient echidnas and seeing the leftovers of their civilization fascinated her. They also walked through green hill, were almost all of Sonic's friends lived.

"Hey Vi", Sonic started.

Violett turned to Sonic knowing that he could only have meant her.

"Vi?" She asked confused.

"Well, sure. I like nicknames and your name is too long anyways."

"Okay then, what is it that you want?"

"I was wondering why you came to help Tails."

Tails ears perked up at that as well. Why had she come to his save? It's not that he wasn't glad she did, but for all she knew, Tails could have been the bad guy and Eggman the good.

"I was walking along the hill from which you can look at the sea and found Tails sitting there. I was interested, so I decided to observe him a bit. That's when the man that you call Eggman came and I heard about his 'plan'. But I decided I'd see what Tails was going to do before I'd step in. Only, it looked like he was going to let Eggman kill him and I could not allow this."

In a bit of a twisted way, that made sense. Everyone who had the power to would have helped here, not only Sonic.

"And what are you doing here in this area? Did you move here or something? I mean, I've never seen you here before …"

"No, I don't live here and I never have. I'm just here on a mission. I will leave as soon as my purpose here is fulfilled."

"A mission, huh? Any clue where you're gonna stay yet?"

Violett was silent for a moment, trying to figure out what Sonic had in mind. But for some reason she couldn't. No matter how hard she tried, she could not see through Sonic's face; she could not read him. How very weird. That was a first for her.

"No …" Violett finally admitted. "I have no place to stay yet."

Sonic smirked a huge smirk and took Violett by one, Tails by the other hand. A tiny little blush crept up Violett's cheeks. No one had ever treated her like that. Almost as if she was a friend.

"Then come! I know the perfect place", Sonic beamed and sped off, dragging Violett and Tails behind him with ease.

&)&)&)&)&)

**Me: That was it for that chap! The second rewritten chappie here. One more to go, the others only have little changes, hardly worth the wait. And our very first guest in this show is Rouge the bat! Welcome!**

**Rouge: I'm happy to be here**

**Me: What kind of questions do you have?**

**Rouge: Will I get to flirt a lot?**

**Me: You'd be out of character if you wouldn't. Of course, Knuckles will be your main focus.**

**Rouge: Oh? And what about Shadow?**

**Me: I might not have him take part in the fanfic at all.**

**Rouge: You have got to be kidding me!**

**Me: No … not really …**

**Sonic: The faker isn't appearing HURRAY!**

**Shadow: *Holds a gun on m forehead* you'd better let me appear if you wanna survive …**

**Me: Uhm … think I better stop here before you have to see a murder. See ya … I hope …**


	3. A place to stay?

**Sonic: I think I already like this fic.**

**Me: Even though I'm gonna do quite a bunch of bad things to you?**

**Sonic: Hah, what can you do? Let me marry Amy?**

**Me: …**

**Sonic: No way! I'm not gonna marry Amy!**

**Amy: We'll marry? OMG, I'm so happy!**

**Me: You guys, I haven't said anything because I don't want to tell the readers what's going to happen, so calm down.**

**Sonic: Close one …**

**Amy: You're gonna make me marry Sonic or I'll make sure you will!**

**Me: (sweatdrops) I do have big plans for you and Sonic, but marriage … we'll see. Oh and I, that is Sheelaflower, do own Sonic the hedgehog nor any of its characters. All copyrights belong to Sega.**

**Amy: Yay!**

**Sonic: (Sarcastic) Just great …**

A place to stay?

Amy was watering the flowers of her little fore garden. She would have liked to chase after Sonic right now or to go shopping or visit Cream and Cheese, but something had told her to stay at home today and flowers need to drink, too. While Amy went on watering her plants, her thoughts drifted away. She thought of their last adventure. There was no doubt that it had been their most dangerous adventure yet. Amy asked herself how the planets who got their planet eggs stolen where doing. Many, almost all of the planets in the galaxy have suffered under the attack of the Metarex, including theirs. Amy was glad that their planet had not yet started welting away when they came back from their journey. However, so many other planets have and Amy was worried about them. How long would it take until every planet was the way it used to be?

Amy also thought about all the heroes they lost. On space Colony ark, Shadow had given up his life in order to protect all of them. Or at least they thought he had. It had turned out Shadow wasn't dead after all. But then, as Sonic and Shadow dueled side by side in the final battle against dark Oak, he knocked out Sonic in order to protect him and had given all his energy to destroy dark Oak. Amy thought that there was a possibility that Shadow wasn't dead after all. She wondered if the ultimate life form could even be destroyed or killed. But either way, Shadow wouldn't have been able to rescue them without the help of Cosmo.

Cosmo had been such a nice creature. She had always thought that she was a burden to everyone, but that wasn't true. Okay, she hadn't been the best at fighting, but Amy hasn't always been the best in fighting either, so what's the big deal? Everybody had liked her and Cosmo did have a lot of information for them. Without all of the information Cosmo had given them, how could they have destroyed the Metarex? Tails had been especially fond of her; it was just too easy to see. Amy hadn't been able to bear looking at Tails when he had to shot the Sonic power canon for the very last time. Luckily, she hadn't been in the same room as him. Cosmo had come from the same species as the Metarex and so all of their attacks and defenses had not been able to harm her. Amy didn't know how, but Cosmo had transformed. Her hair had become long and the bulbs on her head had bloomed. She had flown right through the barrier of the Metarex and had transformed into a beautiful cherry tree. Amy could see it like it would happen all over again. The tree was on the planet the Metarex created and it looked so beautiful. Cosmo had either paralyzed the Metarex or she had taken all of their powers. Amy didn't exactly know which, but in order to once and for all destroy the Metarex, Tails had to shoot the Sonic power canon which had killed Cosmo as well.

Tails had never been the same since then. Amy felt so sorry for the poor, two tailed fox. He had loved Cosmo very much. Amy had seen Cosmos spirit one last time before she disappeared once and for all, when she had gone into the spare control room to see how Tails was doing. Cosmo had been in front of Tails, trying to cheer him up. And since nothing helped, Cosmo had kissed him. That was when Amy lost control. She had started crying like mad at the sad sight. She had wished Sonic was with her. Knowing that he was alright was the only thing that had given her halt. And she had felt something for Sonic she had never felt before. Amy was still wondering what that weird feeling was. But then again, it vanished as soon as she had cheered up a little. she sighed. Maybe it hadn't been such a good idea to stay at home after all.

But just as Amy wanted to go back into her house because she finished watering the plants, she saw three figures approaching her fast. So fast, that one of the three had to be Sonic.

"SONIC!" She yelled with heart eyes. Oh how glad she was that she had stayed home.

But the closer they came, the better Amy could make out the other two figures. There was Tails, who had hardly talked to anyone since Cosmo's death, being dragged from Sonic like nothing had ever happened and Amy was even more thrilled. But that faded when she could make out the third creature; a purple hedgehog in about her size, a little taller maybe, yet, probably, a lot older then her. And she too was being dragged by Sonic. Who did that chick think she was being so familiar with her future husband? And even worse, not only was she older, but prettier as well. A lot prettier. Amy could see that when Sonic came to a halt in front of her.

"Hey, Ames" Sonic greeted cheerfully.

"SOOONIIIC!" Amy yelled again and glomped her favorite blue hero. "Who's she?" Amy then demanded to know.

"Oh, that's Violett. She helped us fight Eggman before."

"Pleased to meet you", Violett said, bowing politely, a gesture she hadn't had the chance to do yet, which had sort of annoyed her.

Amy scowled at Violett and stomped towards her until they were nose to nose. Violett did not make any signs of feeling uncomfortable for being stared down by Amy and her death glares. She remained perfectly calm which made Amy even madder.

"Listen up, girl", she hissed. "I am Sonic's girlfriend and I don't care that you're older and prettier. If you make a move on Sonic, then you're a dead woman."

"Amy …" Sonic started but Violett silenced him with a hand gesture.

"I can assure you that I have no interest in Sonic seeing that I already am as good as engaged. And as for my age, I am merely fourteen, not an age that should be any threat to you."

"Only fourteen?" Sonic and Amy chocked out in unison.

"And already engaged?" Tails asked a bit calmer than the others.

"Almost. It has not been made official yet."

For a moment, everyone was silent, gaffing at the purple hedgehog in their midst. She was a bit different from the normal Anima's, but that made her fit into this group. Her being only fourteen, looking and behaving like a grown-up and even being almost engaged …that was a bit of a shock. And Amy was the first one to overcome it.

"Well", she started, her mood suddenly a lot better, "I haven't introduced myself properly yet. I'm Amy Rose, nice to meet ya."

"So you're a Rose after all?" Violett's eyes widened for a bit. "What a surprise. I never would have thought. I guess that means there are only seven after all."

Amy had no clue what she meant and honestly, she didn't care. She was just happy that Sonic was around and that she was still the only girl that could win his heart. And how she would win it. The others however, weren't as carefree as the pink hedgie and wanted to ask what Violett meant with what she said, but Amy talked first.

"Y'know, standing around like this is stupid. Come in already."

She grabbed Sonic's wrist and dragged him into her house. The other two followed more willingly.

"Please, sit down. I'll go get some tea." Amy said and went into the kitchen.

Amy wanted to show herself from her best side and erase the bad first impression that Violett must have of her. As Amy went back into the living room with tea and cups, she saw Violett and Tails sitting next to each other on her couch while Sonic sat down on the windowsill closest to it .She approached them, careful not to spill anything and placed the tablet on the little table in front of the couch. Amy placed herself on the smaller couch opposite the couch Tails and Violett sat on.

"So, would you mind telling what's going on here?" Amy asked into the round

"Can she stay here at your house for a while?" Sonic asked back.

Amy looked at Sonic dumbfounded for a second, as did Violett. This request came so sudden that it threw both female hedgehogs totally of balance.

"What?" They both asked in unison.

"Well … Vi, you don't know how long you're gonna be here, right?"

Violett nodded.

"And you don't have a place to stay, right?"

Again, Violett nodded.

"So can't you just stay here with Amy? I mean, you're both hedgehog girls and I really don't think it's too healthy for Amy to stay here on her own."

"SONIC! YOU'RE WORRIED ABOUT ME!" Amy screamed and jumped of the couch to embrace Sonic. "Of course I'll let her stay. She can stay here as long as she wants to!"

"Great! Then give her some new clothes too. That dress doesn't look too comfortable." Sonic chocked, trying to stop Amy from suffocating him.

Amy looked at Violett's dress. It really was a bit odd. It looked like a wedding gown.

"I'll do that. It'll be fun. I'm sure I have something that fits to your fur color. You're a bit taller than me but I'm sure that I have something …"

Amy rambled on as she took Violett by the wrist and dragged her to her bedroom.

"I wonder if this was a bad Idea. Amy can be a little pushy sometimes." Tails said to Sonic.

"Yeah. But Violett seems like the kind of person who can handle that."

Amy, meanwhile, was looking through her closet, searching for clothes that would fit Violett. Violett was forced to try on shirt after shirt, skirt after skirt and pants after pants. Finally, after what seemed like forever, they found a good outfit that also matched the color of her violet fur. Amy noticed that Violett insisted on Amy turning around whenever she undressed herself, which was pretty odd. Hedgehogs didn't have anything to show since everything was hidden by fur. She herself only wore close because she liked them and it became a habit to her soon after she started wearing them.

"Hey boys," She said to catch the attention two boys the moment she stepped back into the living room. "What do you think?"

Violett came walking into the living room now, too. She was wearing a turquoise shirt. Just as the dress, it too started at the shoulders. The sleeves were a little too long. They went along the arms smoothly, but went wide at the ends. It was a shirt that was meant to go down to the tights. Violett was also wearing a pair of boot cut jeans. The string with the ring and the crown were still worn by Violett, though.

"Perfect!" Sonic exclaimed

"I think you should get rid of these two." Amy spoke pointing first at the crown and then at the necklace.

"I'm sorry, but I can't. I have to always wear them and keep them with me." Violett responded.

"If you say so." Amy said again.

She was wondering all along if Violett was some sort of princess since she was wearing that crown. She also wondered what sort of stone that was. It did seem familiar to her. If she could only remember where she had seen it before. But then again, it didn't really matter. She was probably just imagining things. Amy looked at Violett again. It was hard to imagine that she was only fourteen, a year older then Amy herself and a year younger then Sonic. Amy was wondering about a lot of things right now, but it didn't really matter. She was absolutely positive that she would be getting her answers. Maybe tomorrow, maybe in few weeks or month, or maybe even in a few years, but she would get them. She would definitely get them, no doubt about it. Amy looked at Tails, who was talking to Violett, next. One of the things Amy wondered about, was what that Violett girl had done to make Tails halfway happy again. That was the only thing she was impatient to get answers for. But asking would not seem like the right thing to do in order to get answers. At least not yet. Amy would have to wait, no matter how she turned it. There was no other way. She would just have to wait.

=!=!=!=!

**Sonic: Okay, so we have a new adventure here. Who will I be fighting, Eggmann?**

**Me: In some ways, I guess I could say you are.**

**Tails: Will Cosmo come back?**

**Me: No Comment.**

**Amy: Will Sonic marry me?**

**Sonic: (swaetdrops)**

**Me: You're obsessed with marrying him.**

**Knuckles: When will I appear?**

**Me: (Sweatdrops) You're making an appearance right now Knuckles …**

**Knuckles: Oh…**

**Sonic: It's cool that we have a mage in the gang now**

**Me: If you think so.**

**Sonic: I'd rather marry her then Amy.**

**Amy: Oh no, Sonic, you didn't just say that.**

**Me: … you better run, Sonic.**


	4. The gang

**Me: Okay, next chap rewritten!**

**Knuckles: Will I appear this time?**

**Rouge: Are you this longing to appear in the story because no one would pay attention to you otherwise?**

**Knuckles: AS if you couldn't wait to appear. The charming jewel thief who always wants to stand n the spotlight; Not a big surprise coming from a batty bat like you!**

**Rouge: What did you just say?**

**Knuckles: That you're nothing but a batty jewel thief who always wants – ouch!**

**Rouge: Didn't I teach you to respect me" I'll show you what's really batty!**

**Knuckles: Well try me!**

**Me: Oh brother, while those two fight, I'll go make the disclaimer: I do not own Sonic the hedgehog not any of its characters, though I really wish I did.**

**Knuckles: COME BACK HERE! I'M NOT THROUGH WITH YOU YET!**

**Rouge: No way! I'll go steal the master emerald since I'm nothing but a jewel thief, right?**

**Knuckles: YOU'RE NOT GETTING THE MASTER EMERALD! WHEN I GET YOU INTO MY HANDS YOU'RE AS GOOD AS DEAD YOU DAMN BAT! COME BACK HERE! I SAID COME BACK!**

**Me: (Sweatdrops)**

The gang

Violett, Amy and Tails walked down the road through the forest that led to Cream's house. Amy thought that it might not be such a bad idea to have Violett make friends with the rest of the gang and Cream just so happened to live closest to Amy's place. And while the three walked and chatted, Sonic sped through forest, unable to bare the trio's slow pace. Of course, he made sure he was always in hearing range, which wasn't too hard to do, seeing that Amy kept asking Violett questions.

"So what kind of mission are you on?" Amy asked her up tenth question.

"I'm travelling around, looking for very special items."

"What kind of items?"

"You'll see soon enough."

You see soon enough. That was the answer to every second question Amy asked. Even though Violett said she was as good as engaged, Amy couldn't help but think of her as a threat in her fight to win Sonic's heart. They were both hedgehogs after all and Violett was remarkably pretty. Surely, Sonic must have noticed that. So now it was beauty vs. cuteness … that should be an interesting fight. The fact that Violett refused to answer so many of Amy's questions only raised her suspicion. After all, someone who had something to hide could not be any good, right?

"And why are you here of all places?" Amy went on

"One of the items I'm looking for is here. Also, I came to look for some help." Violett answered, trying to spot Sonic.

Amy and Tails stopped walking and Sonic suddenly stood still right in front of Violett. All three were suddenly tense; the atmosphere so thick that anyone would have flinched or at least felt majorly uncomfortable had they been in Violett's situation. But Violett did not seem to be under any stress. She seemed perfectly calm, her expression unreadable.

"You came here for Sonic, didn't you?" Amy's voice was not more than a whisper. "That was your intention from the very start."

"That was one of them. I'm afraid I'm not able to fulfill my mission on my own, that's why I need the help of Sonic and his friends."

"What do you mean with Sonic and his friends?" Tails asked.

"I meant what I said. I know of Sonics abilities and am assured that everything he has managed until now had not all been his own doing. He had the help of many friends and companions that would bring him out of dangerous situations."

"She's right, you know." Sonic spoke with a grin on his face, both eyes closed. "I couldn't have done all that stuff without you two and all the others."

"You mean it?" Amy asked with stars in her eyes.

"But I'm only a mecha mechanic. What did I ever do to actually help you?" Tails said.

Violett looked at Tails from the corner of her eye. The young fox certainly had a lack of self confidence, thinking that he was Sonics right hand.

"You help with your machines." Amy exclaimed.

Amy was probably the direct opposite of Tails. She had more self confidence then was good for her. Or did she?

"Amy's right. We could've never beaten the Metarex without the blue Typhoon, the Sonic power canon or all your awesome battle ships." Sonic added, now looking at Tails.

"But back to the topic", he went on, turning his gaze back on Violett.

"When did you plan on telling us that you came here for us?" Amy huffed, putting her hands on her hips.

"The moment you asked", Violett answered calmly.

"I just did ask and what did you tell us?" Amy yelled.

"Actually, she just told us that she came here for some weird items and to ask for the help of Sonic and his friends, cause she's not able to fulfill this mission on her own. She also said that she knows of Sonic's adventures and that he's only been able to get through all them because we were there to help him." Tails stated tonelessly.

That made Amy speechless for just a moment. What Tails just said was true and next to being totally dumbfounded, Amy could not think of anything to counter that statement and turned back to Violett as a last resort

"Yeah … well … that's not good enough. You should have told Sonic the moment you first saw him."

"I'm afraid I was kept a bit too busy for that." Violett responded calmly.

Amy was out of arguments, you could see that in the tenseness in her face. What also bothered her was that she got no help from the boys. Tails didn't talk much anymore anyways and Sonic seemed to have relaxed from the tension he felt when Violett first mentioned that she came here for the Sonic-team.

"Sonic, help me out!" She therefore yelped.

"Come on Amy, it should have been obvious from the start." Sonic said lazily. "A powerful witch, coming here to fulfill a mission? Of course it would get us involved."

"I prefer being called magician or mage." Violett cut in.

"Yeah, anyways" Sonic continued, "what Violett just said is true. We first talked in a fight with Eggman, then I went away, giving her some private space with Tails, after that I dragged her through the area, next I dragged her to your house wanting to get her a place to stay and now we're both dragging her to Cream's house. Your question was the first opportunity for her to say something to that topic."

Amy made a hurt expression and tears started welling up in her eyes as she pierced through Sonic with her stares. However, Sonic noticed too late and the moment he did, he instantly regretted having sided with Violett.

"SONIC, YOU MEANY!" She brawled. "I KNEW SHE WAS GONNA TAKE YOU AWAY FROM ME!"

"Amy", Sonic said, taking a few steps away from the crying cutie in front of him, very aware of the danger he was in. "Be reasonable, Amy. You know I was only trying to be fair."

"BUT YOU SHOULD BE FAIR WITH ME! I AM YOUR GIRLFRIEND! I AM THE ONE YOU ARE GOING TO MARRY, NOT HER!"

"I never agreed to marry you, did I?" Sonic thought out loud, but he immediately realized that was a mistake.

Amy was already in running position, her hammer tight in her grasp. You could almost see the flames of rage surrounding her. Sonic backed away slowly, his palms facing the mad girl in front of him as a sign that he not wanted to fight. Unfortunately, Amy was not eager for peace and in one swift move, she threw the hammer with so much force, it knocked down the tree it hit after Sonic jumped to evade that deadly weapon. That was more than enough reason for Sonic to start running, Amy right on his heels.

"COME BACK HERE, SONIC!" She screeched, summoning another hammer into her hands.

Tails and Violett stayed where they were, sweatdropping.

"Shouldn't we help him?" Violett asked a bit worried.

"Don't worry. If there's anyone who can handle Amy in that state, it's Sonic."

"If you say so …" Violett said, not totally convinced.

"§"§"§"§

On the other side of the forest, Vanilla, Cream and Cheese had built up a table and two chairs and were enjoying apple pie with lemonade. The three had backed it together in the morning and since the day was sunny, they thought they might as well eat it outside and invite some friends in case they should pass by. But what they got was certainly not what the expected to get.

"Mama", Cream said when she first noticed a dust cloud coming from the forest. "What is that?"

Vanilla and Cheese looked to the spot Cream pointed at. All three looked at the cloud with a lot of concentration until Cream could finally identify what exactly it was. After a loud gasp, she jumped out of the chair and took the apple pie.

"What is it Cream, dear?" Vanilla asked.

"Chao?" Cheese said.

"Hurry", Cream answered in a state of panic. "We have to get everything to safety. Sonic made Amy mad again"

Vanilla and Cheese understood immediately and jumped up in panic, trying to get the outdoor furniture to safety before the destructive Tornado reached their house. Just when Vanilla brought in the last chair and called her daughter and Cheese in, Sonic arrived in their place and jumped behind Cream.

"Please, Cream", Sonic begged. "You have to help me. You're the only one Amy listens to."

"SONIC!" Amy has now also reached Creams house. "GET AWAY FROM CREAM SO I CAN SMASH YOU TO PIECES!"

"Chao …" Cheese got so frightened that he also hid behind Cream.

"Amy", Cream tried to soothe her friend, "please calm down. I'm sure that, whatever Mr. Sonic did, he did not do it to hurt your feelings"

Amy looked at Cream and Sonic for a moment and then huffed in defeat, letting her hammer disappear. That moment, Tails and Violett came flying down the road, Violett with a pair of beautiful white wings on her back. The two landed in front of Amy, who gaffed at Violett together with Sonic.

"Transformation magic", Violett explained while the wings disappeared into her back. "I am able to change my body however and whenever I want to."

"Is there anything you cannot do?" Sonic asked, no longer hiding behind Cream.

"There is quite a lot actually." Violett responded. Then her attention drifted to Cream. "You must be Cream, right?"

Cream nodded in awe. That purple hedgehog was really beautiful and graceful and good mannered … like a real lady. Cream eyes went wide and she blushed when Violett smiled at her. Cheese noticed his friend's sudden change and went to see what was wrong with her.

"A chao?" Violet said astounded. "Then you must be Cheese."

Cheese nodded and immediately understood what was wrong with Cream. Violett was everything Cream always wanted to be, so of course she'd act all humble next to her.

"I am Violett. It's a pleasure to meet you all."

Cream's eyes were shining and she bowed a quick and hasty bow. Violett bowed back, which made Cream run to her mother, who had stepped out of the house the moment Amy had calmed down. Cheese followed and sat down on Cream's head.

"I am Vanilla." The rabbit introduced herself. "We were just enjoying some homemade apple pie. Perhaps you would like to join us?"

All seven built the outdoor table and chairs back up and even added the sunshade. It was a lucky thing that Cream, Cheese and Vanilla had backed not only one, but two apple pies so that it was enough for all seven. While eating, Sonic and Amy told Vanilla, Cream and Cheese all about what happened so far and about the reason Violett was here.

"Shouldn't we contact the others? They would want to know about this as well." Cream said when the blue and pink hedgehogs were finished.

"I would like to have everyone gathered before explain what needs to be explained. Might that be possible?" Violett asked.

Cream smiled sweetly as a response and pulled down her glove, revealing something that looked like a watch around her wrist. She pressed a few buttons on it and a peeping sound emerged.

"Hey there, sweetie", A voice soon came from the mini walkie-talkie. "What's the catch?"

"Ms, Rouge, could you be so kind as to tell everybody to gather up at the Master Emerald in 10 minutes?"

"Everybody? Alright kiddo, but this had better be worth the trouble. Rouge out!"

"Alright then, let's go!" Amy said and stood up.

The others followed her example, only to be unsure of what to do next.

"How do we get to Angel Island in ten minutes?" Sonic asked after a moment of silence.

"We would need half of Tails planes to get us all up there." Amy thought out loud.

"We need to fly?" Violett asked. "Well … if that's the only problem … "

Everybody looked at Violett and only after a second her body reformed completely. In a matter of seconds, Violett had transformed into a huge and beautiful purple dragon, big and strong enough to carry all of them. Her legs were long and thin, her tail as long as the rest of her body with two tail wings to maneuver with. The crown was gone, but the white stone that was on it was now engraved into her forehead.

"That", Sonic said, "is one awesome power."

Violett blushed a bit and kneeled so that everybody could climb on her back, only Vanilla stayed home. When they did, Violett stood back up and stretched her enormous wings.

"Hold on tight!" Violett commanded and with a single powerful bat of her wings, they were in the air.

"Please, be back for dinner." Vanilla called after them.

Lead by Sonic, Violett slowly approached their destination. The flight was longer than she had expected, but she had made herself big enough not to get tired with all the extra weight on her back. When the floating island finally came into sight Violett almost fell out of the air.

Violett had never seen anything quite like it and wondered what source could actually give away so much magic that it kept the island floating. But more than that, she wondered why she didn't know about that source. She was a mage and as such, she was bound to know about every magical object existing. On Sonic's instructions, she landed on the island with grace and let him and the others slide of her back before she changed back herself.

"Welcome to Angel Island," Sonic said with his usual grin plastered on his face, "where the most knuckleheaded Echidna of all Echidnas lives."

The troop walked right through the forest that covered most of the floating island. They soon reached a few ruins and past them, on what Violett thought had been a beautiful and proud temple once, where two creatures and many emerald shards which were lying on the floor. As they drew closer, Violett could make out a red echidna that was watching a graceful bat lady in a black suit with white gloves and boots suspiciously, as if she might attack him any second. The bat lady, meanwhile, was surveying one of the emeralds lying on the floor.

"Hey guys," Violett heard Sonic yell behind her.

She felt a rush of wind that seemed pretty unnatural to her and the next second, Sonic was standing right next to the red echidna, arguing with him. The bat meanwhile put the emerald down and flew over to where Violett, Amy and Tails where still standing.

"So, this is our new troublemaker." She said after landing gracefully right in front of Violett.

"My name is Rouge. And you are?"

"I am Violett." She answered politely and bowed. The bat smiled back.

"Is everybody there?" Violett called into the group.

"One is missing." Tails answered.

Everybody went quiet.

"Two are missing." Rouge said, looking to the ground.

Violett was confused now, but still everybody was quiet and nobody looked into another's eyes.

"Three are missing" Sonic said, gazing up into the sky and the silence became even thicker.

Perhaps she had made the wrong decision when she came here to ask for help, but there was no turning back now. Violett knew of everything that awaited them and she knew this had to be done. How else would she be able to help them? How else would she be able to save this zone?

"So? What's up this time? Whatever it is, I'm willing to kick some serious butt!" the echidna broke the silence.

"Mr. Knuckles, you shouldn't behave like that. It's impolite." Cream told Knuckles off, who actually seemed to listen to her, though she was so much younger than him.

"It wouldn't be wise to tell you all of it just yet. All I can say is this is going to be the most dangerous mission you've had so far

"How do you know of our last mission anyways?" Sonic asked.

"I have my sources." Violett answered calmly.

"Then perhaps you know that the last adventure almost killed Sonic! How do you expect him to survive a mission even more dangerous?"

"Amy …", Sonic sighed.

"You have me at your side. I have been taught and trained in many arts and subjects ever since I was little. I could teach you all I know." Violett looked at each of them pleadingly. It had been her biggest fear that they would refuse.

"You can count on me! What do we have to do?" Sonic grinned.

"First of all," Violett started off, very relieved, "you have to gather the seven Chaos Emeralds as we will need their power. Your last adventure has taken you through space. This adventure will take you through the dimensions and only with the emeralds will we be able to do that!"

**Me: Alright everybody, the adventure begins now! **

**Violett: You said that before.**

**Me: I did?**

**Violett: Yeah, in the second chapter**

**Shadow: Is the faker gonna die?**

**Sonic: You're supposed to be dead!**

**Violett: Another hedgehog?**

**Me: Oh, this is Shadow, the ultimate lifeform.**

**Violett: Oh**

**Shadow: (Pointing a gun at Violett) Can I kill her?**

**Me: (Sweatdrops) No…**

**Sonic: O beautiful Princess, I will protect you with my life!**

**Shadow: (Pointing a gun at Sonic) Can I kill him?**

**Me: (Swaetdrops) No…**

**Amy: You won't have to kill him Shadow, cause I'll do that for you!**

**Me: Well, let's see who'll be dead in the next chapter. See ya!**

**Tails: I wonder what happened to Rouge and Knuckles …**


	5. Strange things happen

**Me: Hey there everybody. It is time we see who is dead and who is still alive.**

**Amy: I'm still here.**

**Rouge: So am I.**

**Violett: I seem to still be alive as well.**

**Me: What happened to Knuckles?**

**Rouge: When I tried to steal the Master Emerald he tried to catch me, but I was already of Angel Island so he jumped off it, forgetting he can float.**

**Me: (Sweatdrops) Yeah, well, that's Knuckles. And where's Sonic?**

**Violett: Shadow shoot him.**

**Me: (laughs nervously) Okay, and where is Shadow?**

**Amy: I beat him up with my Hammer because he killed Sonic.**

**Me: Aha. I'll go make the disclaimer then: I do not own Sonic the hedgehog or any of its characters except for Violett. All rights belong to Sega.**

Strange things happen

Everything was quiet on Angel Island. Nobody dared to say a word after Violett had spoken. It wasn't what she had said that made everyone go quiet, it was the way she had said it. Violett seemed to know something, yet, nobody could really figure out what this something was. It didn't really surprise Rouge. From the very first moment when she had looked into Violett's eyes, she knew there was something about her, something strange, mysterious, as though she was able to look right through you.

"You say we'll be travelling through dimensions, but what for? What is it we have to do?" said Rouge, being the first to break the silence.

"I will tell you when time is right. Right now, I need you to trust me."

"Give us one reason to trust you!" Rouge rolled her eyes. Knuckles always had to criticize everything. What a pain.

"Give me one reason you should not trust me." Violett spoke rather calmly. "What is it that makes you trust people? Tell me, and I will show you that I am trustworthy!"

"I trust you." Rouge heard Tails exclaiming. Rouge trusted Violett, too. She didn't know why, but she knew there wasn't anything evil about her.

"I'm with ya, bro!" Sonic said and went to stand next to Tails.

Rouge smiled at the sight. "Really Knuckie, there is no reason not to trust her." She said.

At that moment, something made the whole crew turn around. Rouge's eyes widened as she saw the pieces of the master emerald shining. She took a step back, unsure of what to think of this. The whole gang went a few steps back and stood in a circle around the Master Emerald or what's left of it. Nobody said a word; everybody looked at the Master Emerald, eager to see what happens next and yet afraid of it. And suddenly, out of the circle, walked Violett towards the Master Emerald as if in trance.

"You were saying?" Knuckles asked Rouge in harsh voice, before he went after Violett.

"What do you think you're doing? Get away from the Master Emerald!" Knuckles yelled at Violett, but the very moment he came too close to her, he cried out in pain, gripped his head and fell to his knees.

Rouge ran up to Knuckles and carefully patted his back. "What's wrong?"

"That power …" He managed to choke out, "… It's different … from the Master Emeralds usual presence … it hurts …"

"Knuckles …" Rouge whispered worried. "And her …?"

"It's calling me …"

These were Violetts words. Everybody watched as Violett walked closer to the Master Emerald until she stood in front of its shattered pieces. She spread her arms and the pieces glowed even brighter. Rouge was unable to believe what she was seeing. The pieces floated into the air and started circling around Violett. Then, one piece after another placed itself between Violetts arms until the Master Emerald was in one piece again.

"What's happening?" Tails cried out.

One last time, the Master Emerald shone as bright as never before. And then it happened. Wind was coming from the point where Violett and the Master Emerald were, so strong, that it almost knocked Rouge off her feet. The Emerald was glowing so bright, she had no choice but to cover her eyes and Amy and Cream were screaming. They looked at Violett. Her eyes were closed and her head was held high. Her clothes were fluttering in the wind, but she didn't even seem to notice. The ring she had around her neck was glowing and twirling in midair. Rouge could only watch in astonishment until it hit her. That wind wasn't wind, it was pure energy. It was the Master Emeralds Energy. And as sudden as it came, it stopped. The wind fell and Amy and Cream stopped screaming. Rouge fell on the ground and she saw Sonic falling to his knees.

Violett hasn't moved. She was standing in front of the Master Emerald. Her eyes were unfocused, misty, as if she were still in trance. Then she collapsed. It didn't take long until Knuckles ran up to her and grabbed her arm, turning her to face him.

"WHAT DID YOU DO TO THE MASTER EMERALD?" he yelled into Violetts face. "TELL ME! WHAT DID YOU DO?"

Violetts eyes were slowly focusing again, but she still didn't seem to be quite there yet. Rouge had to hold a laugh when she saw Sonic punching Knuckles in the face.

"Cool it, will ya? In case your blind, Violett just put the Master Emerald back together", he said.

Knuckles opened his mouth to disagree, but since he couldn't think of anything, he closed it again. Rouge went to stand next to Sonic.

"That should even convince you that the girl is trustworthy."

Then she went to Violett, who had collapsed again and was now laying flat on the floor in front of the Master Emerald. Gently, she helped the hedgehog up and supported her when she tried to keep herself in a sitting position.

"What _did_ you do?" Rouge asked when Violett looked as if she could actually recognize when somebody was talking to her.

"I don't know." She answered quietly. "I only followed its call."

Everybody looked at the Master Emerald that was now in its old glory; whole, shining and floating. And then, out of the forest came a creature running. Another one followed and third one, too. Everyone except for Violett knew these three creatures just too well. One was a crocodile, another was a chameleon and the last one was a little bee. They were Vector, Espio and Charmy; the Chaotix.

"Yo, Knux," yelled Vector the moment he spotted Knuckles. "We saw that really bright light and then there was this incredible wind …"

"It made me go flying!" Charmy interrupted.

"… and then we thought somethin' aint right and we came runnin' here as fast as we could. So, what happened?"

"Violett repaired the Master Emerald." Cream said, being back to her cheery self, holding Cheese in her arms.

"Who's Violett?" Charmy asked.

"I'm Violett!"

Still a little shaky, but able to stand on her own two feet, Violett stepped down what is left of the stairs of the temple and slowly walked towards the rest of the crowd. Tails also went down the stairs, keeping an eye on Violett, ready to catch her whenever her legs would buckle. She smiled a gentle and charming smile that made her look more like a high classed lady than ever before.

"Hey, I'm Charmy. Wanna play with me? Nobody ever plays with me, so I really … UGH!"

Vectors hand pushed Charmy aside before he could finish. He cleared his throat and put up what must he must have thought was his most charming smile. Together with an unusual clear, but deep voice, he tried his best to charm her.

"The name's Vector. Very pleased to meet ya!"

Violett just stood there and smiled her smile, not showing that she didn't really know how to react. In the end, it was Espio who saved her.

"Charmy, Vector! That is not a way to behave towards a lady." He said calmly.

"Excuse me, Ninja Boy, I'M the expert when it comes to the ladies! Think you can do it better? Prove it!"

"Step aside!"

Espio shoved the croc out of the way. A short, but intense and challenging glare between Vector and Espio was exchanged and everyone except for Violett sweatdropped. The he walked to the purple hedgie, kneeled in front of her, took her hand and kissed it.

"M'Lady!" He said. "Espio, trained Ninja. At your service."

Everybody was totally baffled at Espio's gentlemanlike behavior, even Vector was impressed. As for Violett, she was much more comfortable with Espio's introduction than with Vectors and she acted that way as well.

"It's indeed a pleasure to meet a Ninja. I shall look forward to seeing your skills firsthand, especially since I have never experienced a Ninja in action before."

It surprised not only Rouge that Violett was taking all this as was absolutely normal. It was as though she had done this all her life. But these are the chaotix were talking about here, so nobody was freaked out for two long and soon the first ones 'the first ones being Amy and Knuckles), started getting annoyed.

"You two Idiots do know that Violett is merely fourteen years old, do you?" Amy asked, a vein popping up on her forehead.

At this, Knuckles, Rouge, but especially Vector and Espio made huge eyes. Nobody, not even Espio would ever have expected this grown up looking girl to be younger than even Sonic. Only Cream and Charmy didn't notice what's going on. They were too busy playing with each other.

"Perhaps you could join us on our quest." Violett said, looking mainly at Espio.

"You can't be serious!" Amy exclaimed. "You expect us to take these Idiots with us?"

"Hey, we're no Idiots! We're detectives and we're really cool." Charmy yelled into Amy's face.

"Yeah, only that cool guys don't spit into a girls face." Amy said.

It was incredible; even though the situation was totally serious, nobody was tense or stressed. Violett had just put the Master Emerald back together without even knowing what she was doing, the group has just been told that they would go an immense dangerous mission through space, and yet they joked and laughed like this was an ordinary day.

Rouge was glad to be part of this group and Violett couldn't help but smile. She would enjoy this adventure, no matter how dangerous it might get. And suddenly, all her doubts were gone. No matter what would happen, Sonic and his friends would be able to handle it. It would turn out all right. Everything would turn out all right!

**Sonic: Wow, what happened there with Violett?**

**Me: Aren't you supposed to be dead?**

**Sonic: Shadz was supposed to be dead, too.**

**Me: True enough I guess.**

**Sonic: So, what **_**did**_** happen there? **

**Me: Sheesh Sonic, don't be so impatient. The explanation will follow soon enough.**

**Sonic: You always say that.**

**Me: And you will know. The adventure has just started. Oh yeah, and Sally will appear.**

**Sonic: Sally? When?**

**Me: Soon.**

**Sonic: Soon when?**

**Me: Soon enough. Just be patient.**

**Sonic: I hate being patient!**


	6. Royal Rules

**Me: This chapter and the next are for all the Sonally fans. Hope you enjoy.**

**Sally: I thank you very much for putting me into your story. There aren't many people out there who like me.**

**Me: Well they're all stupid. You're a very likable character even if you're Sonics love in the comics and in SatAm. **

**Sonic: I really wish all those people out there that hate Sally would stop bashing her.**

**Me: I wish that, too. Look at me. I'm a hardcore Sonamy fan, but I still like Sally. And even if I didn't like her, that's no reason to just go insulting her.**

**Sally: And the same goes to all those who hate Amy. **

**Sonic: Yeah! Be cool everybody, because insulting a character isn't.**

**Me: Sally, you have the honor of making the disclaimer.**

**Sally: Thank you very much. Sheelaflower does not own Sonic the hedgehog nor any of its characters except for Violett. All rights belong to Sega. **

Royal Rules

It was evening, one day after the Master Emerald had been put back together. Sonic, Tails, Amy and Knuckles were back on Angel Island. Violett was on it as well, but she had wandered off some time ago, wanting to explore it. She had told Sonic to just go call for her as soon as they wanted to go. She was the only one capable of flying after all, except for Knuckles.

So the four sat at the ruins of the Master Emerald's temple. Knuckles had made a fire and now they all sat around it, talking, chatting and laughing. Well … all except for Tails. He was just sitting there, listening. He did talk again and had stopped avoiding everybody, but he was still very quiet.

"To Sally's castle? Really?" Knuckles asked astounded.

"Yup! It was quite a sight. I still don't really get what happened there." Sonic answered.

"Man, I wish I could've gone with you. I haven't seen the Princess in ages."

"I wish you would have gone instead of him. I don't like Sonic getting all friendly with Sally again." Amy pouted.

"Don't worry Ames. You've seen yourself how much she has changed ever since Julayla died." Sonic sweatdropped.

Amy just pouted. She had sworn to herself that she wouldn't interfere as long as Sonic was happy. After all, Sonic being happy and most important of all, healthy, were still Amy's top priorities. What good would it do her if Sonic started dating her but would be totally unhappy about it? Or even worse; if Sonic got hurt because she was around him? Amy shuddered at that thought.

Sally used to make Sonic really happy. It had been almost as if he was shining around her. But that had been waaayyyy back when they were all little and Amy had just gotten to know Sonic. After the very first time he had rescued her from Eggman, Sonic had run away, but the next time they met, he had gotten to know that she had no parents and had brought her to Rosie, Sally's caretaker. That's how Amy got in touch with the princess. She was alright back then. Even though she had a crush on Sonic and it was obvious Sonic had liked her back, Amy couldn't help but to like her as well. She had been such a strong, friendly and overall wonderful person.

But then, Sally's mentor, Julayla, had died and the King and the Queen had taken over taking care of her, seeing that she had been chosen to be Queen even though she had an older brother. Slowly, Sally had started changing. The wonderful young leader had become a bitchy princess, especially when she was in a bad mood. Amy had been close when Sonic and Sally had met for the very last time and she had heard her confess. Sonic had said that he used to like her, but not anymore. Sally had made a brave face and had promised to Sonic that they would be friends, but when Sonic left, she started crying. Amy only had little problems imagining how she must have felt.

"You still didn't tell us why exactly you went there", Knuckles said again.

"Or what you did there", Amy added.

"You want me to tell you the whole story?" Sonic asked teasingly.

"You bet! It's been ages since I've last heard of Sally", Knuckles sighed.

"How true. All right, I'll tell you then. I was just running around green hill a bit. I was bored, so I decided that I'd stop at the first house I saw and see if there was anything to do. I guess I should have known that it was gonna be your house, Ames. After all, I know green hill like the back of my head. But I was quite surprised to see Violett sitting there. She said she was waiting for me and that we had somewhere to go …"

„Why did you say you needed to go to the palace?" Sonic asked as he trotted after Violett.

"I have to get something that I can only get there." Violett answered.

"And what would that something be?" Sonic asked again.

"You'll see soon enough."

Sonic knew Violett good enough by now to know that she was never telling anyone anything. She always stayed mysterious. Sonic was kind of sick of this, and yet he couldn't help but chuckle.

"You're not gonna tell me tell me anything are you." He asked with a smirk on his face, although he already knew the answer.

"There's a right time for everything," Violett simply said. "If I tell you the answer now, you would only ask more questions and it would lead to topics far beyond your comprehension. When the time is right time, you'll find out yourself. Just let fate do its job."

That was certainly not what Sonic had expected. But before he could ask any further questions, they were already at the castle doors. Violett knocked on it and a little window in the right castle door opened. An eye was on the other side of the window. At least that was all Sonic and Violett could see of the doorkeeper's body.

"Yes?" He only said.

"I wish to talk to the king", Violett answered as though this was absolutely normal.

"Do you have an appointment?" The doorkeeper asked again.

"I do not need an appointment. I am in company of Sonic the hedgehog, an old friend of the princess."

Wait, how did she know Sonic was a friend of Sally's?

"You won't get to talk the king without appointment if you are in company of Aurora herself!" The doorkeeper spat.

"Perhaps this will change your mind." Violett said and showed the doorkeeper her ring.

Lying in her hand, the ring started to glow and weird Symbols showed up on its surface. (Yay, LotR rip off!). Sonic wasn't too surprised by that anymore. He has learned that Violett always had a trick or two up her sleeves. The eye of the doorkeeper, however, widened at the sight. He looked at the ring as though it was knife pointed directly at him.

"As said," Violett spoke again, her voice now dangerously quiet, "I do not need an appointment!"

The eye of the doorkeeper was now directed at Violett. Fear danced in it. You could think he was afraid Violett would tear him apart right here and now. The thing is, after he heard Violett talk, Sonic had the feeling she might just do that.

"P-please, her mistress," the doorkeeper stuttered, "f-forgive. I w-will announce you at once."

Sonic was amazed. Whoever Violett was, she seemed to have a high position that even allowed her to talk to the king without appointment. Maybe she was a princess herself, seeing as she was wearing some sort of crown. Or maybe mages just had a high position in society. Whatever it was, the window closed and the doors opened. The doorkeeper turned out to be a skunk, which wasn't so surprising in Sonics opinion. He knew another skunk in the king's service.

"Follow me, please." The skunk said and walked towards the castle.

Violett and Sonic did as they were told and followed him. Sonic couldn't help but to look around. It had been so long since the last time he had been in this castle. He saw all the flags hanging on the wall, all the pictures of Sally's ancestors and all the goods that have been hung up for decoration. It was so familiar and yet so strange. But then they came to a door Sonic has only seen from the outside so far. He has often wondered what was on the other side of it, but had never been allowed to go inside.

"Wait here, please." The doorkeeper said a little nervously and he disappeared through the door.

Sonic found himself being rather exited to see what was in the room the doorkeeper just went into, seeing that this was what he wanted to know since he was little.

"Your majesty," the doorkeepers voice could be heard saying, "there is someone who wants to see you, sire"

"Is it Master Naugus? I do have a meeting with him today, but he is rather early." Sonic knew the voice that was talking right now.

"It is not Master Naugus, sire. The person who wishes to talk to you has no appointment."

"Oh really? Who thinks himself important enough to talk to me without appointment?"

Sonic shivered. He has always had respect of Sally's father. He is the only one Sonic would ever take straight commands from, even if he disapproved them. And the way his voice sounded right now he seemed rather angry. Sonic has often seen the King angry. Mostly it was because he had done some kind of nonsense.

"I really think you'd do better to find out yourself, sire, or you might just get into a really sticky situation."

"Very well then", the kings voice spoke again, "summon my wife and my children. Whoever the person is that dares to come busting in like this, he will have to face the whole royal family."

The whole royal family. That would mean Sonic would see Sally again. He just wasn't sure if that was such a good thing. He looked at Violett. Her face was perfectly calm. She didn't seem the slightest bit frightened of having to explain herself in front of the royal family. Sonic didn't think that very wise, especially since Sally had these terrible mood swings. If she was in a good mood, Sally was kind and understanding and generous and as close to perfect as can get. But often, she got such a sudden feel for responsibility. On days like these, she was almost cruelly firm. One step against the law and she would bust you into prison. Sonic had experienced that himself. On bad days, Sally was almost bitchy. She would get stubborn and hot-headed and unfair when her feelings or her pride are attacked. She could get selfish at times, too, when she's hurt or she feels like her family is in danger or treated inappropriately.

"You may enter now", the doorkeeper returned for a sec and disappeared to return to his job.

Violett walked into the room and Sonic followed her. He has seen bigger rooms then this in the castle. There was a lot of decoration on the walls and a lot of doors. Also, there was a red carpet stretched out to the other end, where four thrones were positioned on a few steps. On the first throne from the right (or left from Sonics point of view) sat Sally, next to her was her mother, Queen Alicia. King Max sat on the throne next to her, which was also the biggest. On the last throne, was Sally's elder brother, prince Elias.

"Who dares to ask for a meeting with me without making up an appointment first?" King Max asked.

His voice filled the whole room and Sonic felt rather uncomfortable. He has never liked seeing the King angry and right now, he certainly made an angry face. Violett however, seemed perfectly calm. Her expression hasn't changed at all and her presence showed pure confidence. The King however, didn't seem to like these vibes.

"Look closer." Violett answered, still being the calmness in person. "Perhaps you'll recognize me if you do."

Sonic couldn't believe Violett dared to be so cheeky towards the king. Unfortunately, Sally didn't seem to be in a good mood today. While her mother really did look at Violett as if she was trying to figure out what she meant, it was clear Sally was fighting to keep her cool.

"My father asked you a question and you are to answer it, understand?" She said.

"And so I did. It is not my fault that it's not the answer you wished for." And still Violett was perfectly calm, but Sally stood up.

"You dare talk to me like that? Who do you think you are?" Her voice was shaking as she said this.

That was exactly were Sally has changed. She used to be lighter, more like a normal kid. And now she was the way a princess was supposed to be. Sonic was there when it happened. He has seen how Sally slowly behaved more and more like one. Well, you can't blame her; she _is_ a princess after all. Violett, however, didn't seem bothered by it at all.

"I see you haven't taught her yet", she said, turning back to Max. "How old might she be; fifteen? Sixteen? There are girls out there who are already ruling their own kingdom at this age. What do you think would happen to them if they would have acted as stupid as she just did?"

"Hey!" Elias now spoke up. "Don't you dare insult my sister! We are still the royal family and we can make your life hell if you don't show a little respect."

"You haven't taught him either?" Violett was totally ignoring Elias, but there was a hint of outrage in her voice now. "What good do you think you will reach with that? Do you think that they will not have to follow the royal rules only because they don't know about them? Do you think they will make an exception of your kingdom? Certainly not! Had it been any other then me to appear today, your children would have been dead by now and who knows what would have happened with you."

Sonic could see that King Max was listening to her words and they seem to even make him nervous.

"You're a daughter of Tinuvièl!" Though it was mere a whisper, everybody could hear the words Queen Alicia spoke.

"Almost," said Violett, "I'm a daughter of Nightshade and you had better teach your children the royal rules as soon as possible. I won't be the last visitor you have."

Sonic didn't understand a word, but he wasn't really surprised anyways. He gazed at Sally. She has become a beautiful young lady. If only she wouldn't have changed so drastically.

"Why have you come here, daughter of Nightshade?" Max spoke.

"I have come to receive your most sacred possession. I need the sword of Acorns."

**Me: Pfew finally, that chapter is finished. And as a special guest we have Knuckles! Now Knuckles, what questions do you have?**

**Knuckles: How I haven't been in any fights so far? This is already the sixth Chapter and I haven't kicked one butt yet!**

**Me: Don't worry about that, the action will come soon enough. **

**Knuckles: When?**

**Me: If I told you that, I would be spoiling the surprise, wouldn't I?**

**Knuckles: Oh … yeah … will I get to kick a lot of butt?**

**Me: (Sweatdrops) Yes Knuckles, you will. Any questions that don't have to do with fighting?**

**Knuckles: Yeah! How come you're OC is the only one that has so far appeared in every chapter?**

**Me: Oh, you mean Violett? She will appear in every chapter in which she needs to appear. And since she is very important for the first chapters, she appears in a lot of them.**

**Knuckles: But why is she so important?**

**Me: Because she has a lot of information that are important for the story, but if she doesn't do all the appearances she does now, the readers won't understand them.**

**Knuckles: Will I be that important, too?**

**Me: I haven't decided that yet and if I had I wouldn't tell you. Thanks again to all those who have faved this story and me. Now****, if you'd review, I would be perfectly happy.**


	7. The sword of Acorns

**Violett: Hello Everybody. Since Sheelaflower has been beat up by Amy for putting Sally into this story, I will do the disclaimer today.**

**Amy: What gives you the right to do the disclaimer? Only because you're Sheelaflowers OC doesn't mean you're anymore important then me.**

**Sally. I'm the one that should do the disclaimer, seeing that I'm the princess.**

**Rouge: Yeah, but I'm the lady in this whole b*tch fight, so I'll do the disclaimer.**

**Charmy: Yay, a b*tch fight. **

**Amy: You don't even know what a b*tch fight is.**

***Everybody starts fighing* **

**Alicia: Since they are busy, I'll go make the disclaimer. (Get's a smack on the head and faints)**

**Shadow: That should do. Now … (Shadow's tail is starting to burn) What the …**

**Blaze: Alright, let's end this ridiculous disclaimer fight. Sheelaflower …**

**Amy: Who said you can just go make the disclaimer? (Pulls blaze into the b*tch fight) **

**Silver: Sheelaflower does not own Sonic the hedgehog nor any of its characters except for Violett. All rights belong to Sega.**

**Sally: He made the disclaimer! Let's get him! **

**Silver: (Swaetdrops and starts running)**

***All the girls (plus Shadow) run after Silver, screaming angrily***

The sword of Acorns

A daughter of Nightshade. She would have never thought that they would get a visit from someone like that. She knew that they should have taught their children about the royal rules, but her husband has always been against it. A simple mention of the list had always been enough to make him blow up like a volcano. Why? Alicia never found out. Maybe Max just liked being in control and disliked being controlled by someone, anyone. It could also be that he himself never has never really been taught about it or maybe he was just scared. After all, all you need is one wrong move in front of someone like her and the possibility of you dying in the next hours is incredibly big. But somehow, Alicia had the feeling that she wouldn't kill anyone. She seemed like such a gentle and peaceful person to her. Max must have thought the same. Seeing that he had a daughter of Nightshade standing before him, he seemed pretty calm.

The only thing fishy about her, are the words she just said; that she wanted the sword of Acorns. Alicia knew that the sword had immense power, but they are only revealed to the family of Acorns and only to those who are meant to receive the crown. So what good would it do to her, as a daughter of Nightshade? Could mages also use the power of the sword?

"Give you the sword? Tell us one reason why you should have it!" Sally said. It was obvious she didn't like Violett too much.

"Sally, this matter is out of your hands. I want you to be quiet, do I make myself clear?" Alicia spoke to her daughter, who only scowled, but stayed quiet.

„You know the rules as good as I do, daughter of Nightshade, if not even better", Max now spoke out. "We are not to give the sword to anyone!"

„Unless you are no longer capable of protecting it, you trust someone, and that someone has a very good reason and proof to take it" Violett spoke. The King went white in the face.

"I can certainly not say that I'm not capable of protecting the sword anymore." He huffed angrily.

"But it is what I would say."Violett spoke again. At her words, the whole room seemed to be filled with a thick silence. It was as though Violett's words brought a bad premonition into the room.

"There's someone on the hunt for the sword", she continued. "I guess you have heard of Ira?"

"Who hasn't?" It was Alicia's time to speak. "His story could surpass Romeo and Juliet."

"Then I guess you know his almost-wife was no better. What do you think she could do with the sword in her hands?"

Elias ears perked up. This is the second time he has paid attention to what was going on here.

"She's gathering them, isn't she?" He whispered. There was confusion in Sally's eyes, now. Alicia could clearly see that she had no clue what was going on. And it wasn't any different with Sonic either.

"I met her."Elias went on. "She asked me about the sword and the other Items. She asked me if a girl named Violett has been here before, too. That's you isn't it?"

Violett only nodded.

"She's coming to get it, right?" Elias asked his voice still no louder than a whisper.

And again Violett nodded.

"She's going to come here and take it. And whoever stands in her way will be killed."

"She's playing with us." King Max said.

"But she will not win." Violett voice was full of confidence, now. "Not if you give me the sword. I can protect it better than all of your mages and knights put together."

"Our security around the sword is top, and it's so well hidden, nobody will ever be able to find it. Tell me, how can you protect the sword better then we can? I'd really love to see that."

"Sally, that's enough. This is a serious topic of which you have no clue of, so I command you to shut your mouth or you'll get grounded, young lady!" Max was now out of his chair.

"It's okay." Violett said, not at all offended by Sallys words. "It's not her fault she has no clue of the situation. I would say the same about your son, but he managed to find out for himself."

Max and Alicia went white in their faces. Violett was right. They should have taught Sally and Elias about the royal rules and a lot of other things.

"And she might just be right. Perhaps I should give you a little demonstration of my power." Violett said.

She grabbed the ring around her neck and placed it on her finger. Then she directed her hand towards Sally and focused her eyes on her. Soon, a turquoise aura appeared around Sally, lifting her gently into the air. All eyes were now directed towards her, who actually seemed to enjoy floating in midair. Alicia however took a short look at Violett, clearly seeing the strain of the effort she's putting into this. Putting her gaze back on Sally, Alicia saw how she now floated towards Sonic, who has been remarkably quiet all this time (perhaps because he had no clue what the others were talking about), landing softly in his arms.

Sally looked at Sonic with big eyes and Alicia could almost see her daughter blush under her fur. Sonic, on the other hand, smirked his usual smirk, though Alicia could have sworn it was a little softer then what she usual saw. He then put Sally gently back down. It was a good thing Alicia didn't look at Violett that very moment, otherwise she would have seen the sweat on her face and her heavy breathing. She would have doubted her powers, seeing that using telekinesis on Sally really exhausted her.

"What makes you think you can come up against Lupa? You do know the power she's got, don't you?" Max spoke, walking towards Violett.

"I doubt I can come up against her," was the answer.

"Then why should I give you the sword?"

"Because I can exhaust her," Violett said this as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. "And I have powerful friends at my side that she won't be able to take it up with if she's tired."

Max was quiet. You could clearly his royal brain working. His gaze was fixed on Violett. Everybody else looked at Max, awaiting his decision. The room was deadly quiet. Every sound would have been disturbing as long as the King was thinking whether he should give her the sword or not. Then his gaze fell upon Sonic. It was clear that these "powerful friends" Violett had been talking about were Sonic and his friends.

"How many has she got?" Max finally broke the silence.

"Two", was Violett simple answer.

"How many have you got?"

"Two if you would give me yours".

Again, silence fell into the room. Again, minutes passed before Max spoke.

"Sally, give them the sword", was his decision.

"What? But father …"

"Don't question me! Give them the sword!"

"As you wish, father." Sally almost spat and turned to Violett and Sonic. "Follow me." She said and stormed off to one of the doors in the room.

The room they walked into was high, higher than the throne hall. It was quite wide and perfectly round. Looking up, you could see terraces on different floors and a staircase going along the wall. In the middle of the room was a pool, also perfectly round, filled with an orange, glimmering liquid. Sally took of her vest and her boots and walked into the pool. A few seconds later, it started glowing from the middle. That very moment, King Max and Queen Alicia walked into the room.

"Sally is the one the sword of Acorns chose as the heir of the throne." Max explained. "That's why she's the only one who can get it from pool."

"She's not." Violett said." She's merely the only one on this planet, galaxy, perhaps even in this dimension who can get it. I could get it just as well, but I don't like getting undressed."

Then, Sally came out of the pool. Her mother, who carried a bathrobe, went to Sally, who now had the sword of Acorns in her hand, and gently placed it over her shoulders.

"You know that it only accepts members of the royal family, don't you?" Sally said.

"You don't know half of the powers and secrets that are around this sword." Violett responded.

"And I suppose you do?"

"I know more then you, that's enough."

Sally and Violett stared at each other for a while, until Sally held out the sword for Violett to take it. And so she did, only that it didn't happen without consequences. The very moment her grip on the sword tightened, an orange light came from its blade, surrounding Violett. The light filled the whole room, running around Violett and the sword in waves. Violett shut her eyes tight, and her grip on the sword tightened, too. Her whole body tensed as though she was in great pain. Then, the sword started talking.

"You are not worthy!" it spoke.

"How am I not worthy?" Violett asked, opening her eyes a little. "Didn't Mirromeere and Nightshade take part in creating you?"

"Show that you are a worthy, daughter of Nightshade. Pass this test and I shall obey your commands."

After these words were spoken, the light brightened. The soft waves became harder, bigger and ran faster. Violetts head snapped back and she screamed. Her voice filled the whole room and so did the wind that now came from the sword. The light became so bright, it was almost impossible to see what happened. Violett, however, pulled herself together. She gripped the sword tighter and under enormous effort, pulled her arm up. With another scream, the light started running the other way around to the sword and in a beam into the air.

When the show was over, Violetts arm fell back to her side. Her head lay in her neck and she was breathing heavily. Sweat was on her face and eyes were closed. Sonic was the first to approach her.

"Hey Vi, you okay?" He asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine, don't worry." Violett smiled back weakly. "I thank you for your trust your majesties. We will bring the sword back to you as soon as the threat has gone."

With a wave of her hand, the sword vanished. She turned around and left for the throne hall. Sonic grinned one more time at Sally before he followed Violett out.

"Mother? Who is this girl?" Sally asked when they were both out the door.

"She is a magician."Alicia answered. "Her magic is strong and ancient and her family-tree reaches deeper than yours. But you'll learn about her soon enough. It's time we teach you the royal rules."

=!=!=!=!

"So, what was that all about?" Sonic asked when they were out of the castle.

"What do you mean?"Violett asked back.

"Well…you know… that weird lightshow with the sword and this insider-conversation. And who's Nightshade?"

"You'll learn soon enough."

Sonic laughed at this.

"Okay, okay, I get it. You're not gonna tell me anything with that has to do with that mission you're on, right?"

"Almost. I'm not going to tell you anything that have to do with many different things."

"You gonna tell me why you wanted me to come with you?"

"To sooth the princess' temper. The fact that you were with me made her hold back a little. She would've gotten into a lot of trouble with her parent if she hadn't."

"Oh yeah, how come you knew that I am a friend of Sally's"

"I know a lot of things about you and Sally."

"And how did you know she's not gonna hold back without me? You a fortune teller or something?"

That made Violett giggle a bit.

"A fortune teller? Me? No, I have absolutely no seer powers."

"But then how …"

"I guess you can call it intuition. Mages have a very strong Intuition, though, it's a little different with every mage."

Silence…

"I have a question for you." Violett said after a while.

"What?"

"How come you were so quiet in the castle. I don't know you that good, but I'm pretty sure you're not the quiet type of person."

Sonic could feel Violetts eyes resting on him and he had the feeling that she was looking right through him. He felt like she knew the answer already, as though she knew how he worked and he didn't like it. Why he was so quiet in the castle? The answer was Sally. He had so many memories with her and it was so long ago since he last recalled them. And then there was King Max. Probably the only Person Sonic was scared of. He didn't dare say anything because he felt like it would only make the situation even worse. The only thing Sonic could do when he had no clue of what's going on was to be cocky and try and catch up, but not when the King was evolved. And then there was the simple fact that Sonic had no clue of what's going on, so there wasn't really anything he could say to the topic.

"Didn't feel like talking." Was the only thing Sonic actually said as an answer to Violett's question.

"After that I brought Violett back to Amy's house. We talked quite a lot on the way. She asked me to tell her of my adventures, so it was mostly me who did the talking." Sonic finished.

"Well, I'm glad that Sally's still okay." Amy smiled.

"Sure thing. And who knows, maybe she'll start acting normally again one day!"

The evening went on and Sonic, Tails, Knuckles and Amy enjoyed one of their very last uneventful nights together. After all, none of them knew of all the things that were going to happen on their newest and possibly biggest adventure yet.

**Me: Yay, I'm finished. And the questions to be answered are: Who are Mirromeere Nightshade, who is Lupa, why is she after the sword of Acorns, what exactly is the sword of Acorns, what's up with  
Violetts Family tree and a lot of other things. And as special guests we have Sonic and Amy here. So, what are your questions? **

**Amy: Will Sonic and I marry?**

**Sonic and Me: (Sweatdrop)**

**Sonic: Will Sally appear again?**

**Amy: (Angry) Why are you always asking for Sally? I'm the one you're supposed to ask for!**

**Sonic and Me: (Sweatdrop)**

**Me: No, Sally will probably not appear again: **

**Knuckles: When will I appear again?**

**Sonic: What on earth are you doing here? You're not a guest.**

**Knuckles: Oh and I suppose you are?**

**Sonic: Uh … yeah? **

**Knuckles: Yeah right, who'll believe you?**

**Sonic: I'll show you how much you can believe me! (Punches Knuckles in the face)**

**Knuckles: You want a fight blue? You can have it! **

***Sonic and Knuckles start fighting***

**Amy and Me: (Sweatdrop)**

**Me: Uh … yeah. Let's call it a day for now. Please review. I would be so happy if you did.**


	8. Getting ready

**Me: Hello everybody. Believe it or not, the b*tch fight is still on and poor Silvers in hospital because he got beat up by all the girls.**

**Amy: Sheelaflower, who is gonna make the disclaimer? **

**Me: Cool it girls, (looking at Shadow) and guy, everybody will have a turn at doing the disclaimer.**

**Rouge: But who will do it today? **

**Me: Since you have all been acting like idiots, I will have Big do the disclaimer today**

**Big: Did you hear that froggy? We'll get to do the disclaimer.**

**Sally: But Big is an Idiot. He doesn't even know what a disclaimer is.**

**Me: True. Then I'll let Chaos do the disclaimer.**

**Blaze: ( Swaetdrops) Chaos can't talk.**

**Me: Oh, right. Then, we'll have Maria do the disclaimer.**

**Shadow: (wimpers) Maria…**

**Maria: Hello Shadow**

***Shadow runs happily towards Maria***

***Maria runs happily towards Shadow***

**Me: Alright, this is getting me nowhere. I do not own Sonic the hedgehog nor any of its characters. Only Violett and the story are mine. All rights belong to Sega. That should do.**

Getting ready

Violett was sitting on one of the wings of the Tornado. Why? She was waiting for Tails. It had been almost three days since she had first met him and her intuition has told her, that he would come here today. By now, Violett has found out that Tails had one house and three workshops; One at the beach, not far away from his house, one on mystic ruins and one underground inside a mountain in the great forest. The one Violett was in right now, was the one Tails used to go to most often, seeing that it was only a few meters from his house. It wasn't exactly hard for Violett to find it. She just went along the beach and voila, there it was, built into the many huge rocks. When Violett went inside, she could hardly believe her eyes. The plain in there was top. Violett didn't know much about technology, she could hardly even use a computer, but every idiot could see that Tails plain was a masterpiece going with the technology on this planet.

Violett had looked around a little bit, sat at the water a little bit, enjoyed the sun a little bit and finally, decided to wait. So she sat down on one of the tornado's wings and waited. And for real, only a half an hour after she sat down on the Tornado, Tails came. His eyes were already showing much less sadness, even though Violett hasn't seen Tails smiling once. She could understand him. It had taken a long time for her to be able to smile again, too.

"Oh, hey Vi", Tails said when he spotted Violett sitting on the Tornado.

Vi. That was Violetts new name. Sonic started calling her that and now, everybody did. It's not like she didn't like it. Violett just never had a nickname before, so it would take some time getting used to. But she didn't think that it would take that long. Almost everyone had a nickname here. Miles was Tails, Amy was Ames, Knuckles was Knux (or Knucklehead), Dr. Robotnik was Eggman and so on.

"Hello Tails", Violett greeted back.

"What are you doing here?" Tails asked.

"Well, staying at Amy's is a little tiring. She's a little too hyper for me."

"Yeah, I know. She can be a pain sometimes"

"Indeed. But she is a really sweet girl, and she has a big heart. This is a really nice spot for a workshop"

"Isn't it? That's the first time I've been here since I met Cosmo. She would have loved it, too."

Tails looked at the ground. It was easy to guess what was going on in his mind. Three days and Violett has already figured him out. But since the two have been hanging out a lot in these three days, it wasn't really a surprise to Violett. He hadn't been too hard of a nut to crack. Then there were those, who are impossible to figure out in such a short time, like Amy or Sonic. And then there were the really easy ones, like Charmy and Vector, though, Violett had the feeling that there was more to Vector than meets the eye. She would have to keep a close watch on him if she wanted to figure him out. She has also already made another encounter with Egmann. Violett didn't think him too bad. He wasn't really evil, he was just enjoying his rivalry with Sonic. Taking a closer look, Violett could have almost sworn that there was some kind of weird friendship between the two of them.

"Listen Tails," Violett picked up the conversation again, "I don't think that this is what she wanted."

Tails ears perked up.

"No…" he whispered. "Not you, too."

He couldn't hear it anymore. He has been told it thousands of times; this one particular sentence. Tails clenched his fist and looked at Violett. His eyes were teary and his expression full of rage. Instead of whispering, he started yelling.

"Everybody says that! 'Tails cheer up or you'll make Cosmo sad', 'She wouldn't want you to be like this, Tails', 'Do you really think Cosmo would like it if you're like this, Tails?' COSMO IS DEAD! Cosmo can't feel anymore, so how am I or anybody else supposed to know what she would want? And you! I thought you were different! I thought you'd understand that. Nobody knows what she'd want or what she wouldn't want and it's not like she could tell me, is it?"

He looked at Violett for a few seconds. Her face was perfectly calm, the expression on her face unreadable. She just looked at Tails with those all-knowing eyes of her. It was a contest of who would look away first and Tails lost it. He turned on the spot and used all his efforts to not start crying. For a whole while, none of them said a word.

"Then think of it the other way around."

Tails eyes widened at that. He turned back to Violett and looked at her, confusion filling his every feature. The smile was back on Violett's face. Her eyes were gentle, loving and knowing and it soothed Tails to no end when he looked at them.

"Close your eyes Tails."

He obeyed.

"Imagine Cosmo standing in front of you. Imagine her laughing and smiling."

Tails did as he was told. The lovely face appeared in front of him. Her cheeks were flushed, her eyes sparkling and her lips were formed into a wonderful smile. Tears welled up in the young kitsune's eyes again. What wouldn't he give to see that smile one more time?

"Now imagine her being sad. She's sitting on the floor, crying. She talks with nobody, doesn't want to see anybody."

Cosmo's expression changed. Tails now saw her crying. Her cheeks were flushed as well, but from the salty tears that ran down her face. One sob after the other escaped her lips. Tails wanted to go to her, to cheer her up, tell her that everything was going to be all right, but he couldn't.

"Open your eyes Tails."

Again, he obeyed.

"If it was you who died and not Cosmo, how would you want her to be living? With a smile or with tears?"

Tails didn't answer at first. It wasn't like he really needed to. He was pretty sure Violett already knew the answer and only waited for him to confirm it. But he also knew that Violett wouldn't let him leave either until she was done with him.

"I'd want her to smile", he therefore answered.

"Close your eyes again!"

Tails hesitated this time, not sure if he really wanted to know what Violett was up to. But only one gaze at the purple hedgehog and he knew her intentions were pure and thus, he did as he was told.

"She's sitting in a corner. The memory of your death is running through her head over and over again. With all her heart she wishes that none of it would have happened. She wished she could've found a way to save everybody, including you. It depresses her. She sees you crying in her head and saying goodbye."

Tails tried to imagine everything Violett him. He saw her crying over him, heard her whispering his name, hoping that through some miracle, it would bring him back. Seeing all this made him realize one very important thing; she was just the way he had been these last few weeks.

"Now imagine her lying in the grass, looking up at the sky. She remembers how much you loved to fly. She remembers how you first met and how she got dizzy the first time she flew with you. She remembers all the fun times she had with you and it's putting the most gentle of all smiles on her face."

That one was even harder to imagine. He had spent so much time seeing Cosmo dying that when he did manage to see her like this, it was as if she had born anew.

"Open your eyes."

Tails obeyed.

"What would you want her to remember? Your death? Or all the good times she had with you?"

"The good times."

"Did she love you Tails?"

"That's what she told me."

"Then why is it so hard for you to imagine that she would want the same for you than what you would want for her?"

Tails didn't answer. Everybody had always said it; that this isn't what Cosmo would have wanted and he always came up with the excuse that nobody could know what it is she's because she's dead. But Violett had just erased that excuse. She made him think about it, made him see the situation from a whole other point of view. Yet, he still wasn't a 100% convinced.

"You know, the best way to honor the memories of somebody you love is to think of all the good times you had with her. Remember everything she gave you and treasure it. Cosmo sacrificed herself for the galaxy, so that it could stay alive. She sacrificed herself so that you could stay alive. But what good is being alive if you don't live?"

That last sentence had an incredible amount of depth. All this time, Tails had done nothing but to live in the past. Cosmo's wish had been fulfilled, he was alive. But if he didn't take advantage of that, what good would it do him? What was it that Sonic once said? 'Everything has its end. I know that's kinda sad, but that's why we gotta live life to the fullest in the time we have.'

"Nobody wants their beloved one to suffer. Weren't you happy whenever you saw her smile? Don't you think she would be happy if she could see you smile?"

Violett knelt down to Tails. She took his head into her hands and kissed his forehead.

"I think she would suffer, if she could see you like this." She whispered. "I know how hard it is to recover. But please, don't give into despair. Don't give up on love and happiness. You can always start anew. It may seem hard, impossible even, but you have all the time in the world."

Tears now rolled down Tails cheeks. Violett moved her hands from his face to his back and embraced him.

"Cry!" She whispered. "Cry as much as you have too. It'll help, you'll see."

Tails gripped Violetts shirt and buried his face into her chest. One sob after another escaped his lips and his tears were flowing freely. The two were sitting there a long time. Like mother and son, Violetts hands caressed Tails' head while Tails cried into Violetts chest. Violetts smile has vanished and once again, she was lost in her own thoughts.

%&%&%&%&

"Meet the blue typhoon", Tails said when he put on the lights in the underground workshop.

"Wow", was the only thing Violett was able to say.

She knew Tails was incredibly smart and good with technology, but she would have never thought that he would be able to build something like this. The blue typhoon was gigantic, though it looked a little beaten up. She saw how ingenious it was when she went inside and looked around. There were plenty of rooms, a huge garage for many different planes, many different weapons, yada yada yada. It must have taken months, if not even years to build such a thing.

"Tails, this is incredible." Violett said when she was finished looking around.

"No, it's not. Your magic is incredible. You can learn such things, they're based on pure logic, but your magic isn't. You have to be really good to be able to use something you can't understand."

"Do you think you can pep this thing up a little?" She said, seeing how beaten it looks. Tails bit his lip.

"I could help you." Violett spoke again.

"You're good with technology?"

"No," Violett shook her head, "I have absolutely no clue about technology. But maybe I can assist you with my magic."

Soon, not only Violett, but also Sonic, Amy, Knuckles, Cream, the Chaotix and everybody else were coming to help Tails repair The Blue Typhoon. Tails also upgraded it, by putting in a Chamber were they could get Energy out of Violetts magic, a chamber to get Energy from the chaos emeralds which Sonic was pretty busy collecting, another energy Chamber, a huge training and battle arena since Violett planned on training Sonic so that he wouldn't die on this mission, a few extra rooms and a canon with which you could create a hole in the barriers that divided the dimensions.

"I thought you can only create a hole when there's a spot in the barrier that has weakened", Tails said when Violett told him to build the canon.

"That's true when you do it with technology. But those rules don't count for magic."

Tails also upgraded the cockpit a little and built a plane for just about everyone, except for Violett. She had said that she didn't need one, since she could fly on her own and her magic was weapon enough.

Everybody worked nonstop on the blue Typhoon. Even Creams mother, Vanilla, helped by cooking them the most delicious meals. And when they had nothing to do, Amy and Cream sometimes helped her. Vector was always happy when Vanilla came and the two of them would always have a little conversation before Vector got back to work. Espio still behaved a little awkward around Violett, seeing as their first encounter had been a little awkward, too (at least for Espio).

"Hey Vi, could you hand me the spanner, please?"Tails said one morning when he and Violett were alone in the workshop.

Tails was several feet from the ground, working on the Blue Typhoons engine from the outside. Violett was on the ground, watching him. She has learned a thing or two from Tails by now, so she had no problem identifying the object Tails wanted and used her telekinesis to send it up to him.

The very moment Tails grabbed it, a little black Chaos flew into the room. He had a backpack on his back and landed softly on the floor. Tails yelped and hid behind the Blue Typhoon. Violett observed the whole scene and was rather confused by Tails behavior.

"Hey!"The chaos yelled. "That's mean! I didn't even do anything yet!"

"Get lost, Bokkun!" Tails yelled back. "Vi, come here, that guy's dangerous!"

"Dangerous? But I'm not dangerous." The chaos said with watery eyes.

"Would you mind telling me who you are?" Violett asked and kneeled so that she was face to face with the Chaos.

"I'm Bokkun", it answered, "And I'm not dangerous at all. I just deliver messages. That's why I've come here. I have one from Dr. Eggman."

Bokkun reached into his backpack and took out a little TV.

"Listen up Tails!"Dr. Eggman showed up on the TV. "I don't know what you're planning, but I know you're planning something! I command you to tell me or you'll get into big trouble. Send a message back with Bokkun!" And the TV exploded.

"Haha! You fell for it!" Bokkun laughed at Violett who was now covered in black.

"I'm not gonna tell Eggman anything!" Tails yelled still behind the Blue Typhoon.

"Yeah, whatever!" Bokkun cried and made his way out.

However, before he reached the elevator, he stopped in midair and a turquoise aura surrounded him. Violett had stood up and looked pretty pissed. With a wave of her hand, Bokkun started flying through the whole hall, screaming like mad and hitting one wall after another. Tails eyes followed Bokkun who now started crying.

"That's not fair – ouch! I'm just a kid – ouch! Help –ouch!"

With one final wave. Bokkun flew towards the elevator and crashed against it just before the doors closed themselves and the chao was gone.

**Me: Alright, this chapter is finished and the crew is almost ready for takeoff. And as special guests we have Violett and Tails. The two of them are good friends by now. So, do you have any questions?**

**Violett: Why am I in the b*tch fight? I'm not a b*tch, am I?**

**Me: Um … I meant questions to the story.**

**Tails: Will Cosmo come back?**

**Me: Didn't you already ask that?**

**Tails: I thought we were the ones that should ask the questions.**

**Me: Well ask another one.**

**Tails: Okay, how old am I in this fanfic?**

**Me: Well, I wanted to make you as old as you are in Sonic X, but since I had no clue about how old you were, I made you ten years old.**

**Tails: Ah, okay thanks.**

**Violett: Why am I training Sonic?**

**Me: Since the last Metarex thing almost killed him and this mission is even more dangerous, he has to get stronger than he is now, otherwise he won't survive.**

**Tails: Is Cosmo gonna come back?**

**Me: (Sweatdrops) Okay … it would be nice if you'd stop asking that. Well, that's it for now guys. Please review. I read every comment I get and every single one makes me happy.**


	9. The adventure begins

**Me: Hey there, everybody. I can't say it for sure, but this will probably be the last chapter for a while since I want to work on my other fanfiction a little. **

**Sonic: What? But nothing's really happened yet! **

**Me: That's exactly why I'm making a stop here. But don't worry, it's not for sure. If I have problems going on with my other fic, then I'll return to this one.**

**Amy: But that could take ages.**

**Me: If I don't have any problems, then I'll write to a point I already settled and return here after I've written it. But no matter what happens, I'll go on with the story.**

**Sonic and Amy: Close one (sighing in relief)**

**Me: Amy, would you do me the honor of doing the disclaimer today?**

**Amy: Sure! Sheelaflower does not own Sonic the hedgehog nor any of its Characters except for Violett, Lupa, Shane and Ira. Oh yeah, there are Mirromeere and Nightshade too …**

**Me: Hurry up already!**

**Amy: Alright, alright! All rights belong to Sega! Happy now?**

**Me: Yeah, thank you!"**

The adventure begins.

"Hey Tails, what's up?" Amy asked through the communication device.

"Could you tell everybody to start packing?" Tails answered. "The Blue Typhoon is almost ready; we'll leave in a few days. Violett and I just have to work on a few little things."

"Sure, no problem. Amy out."

It was about a month ago that Violett first met Tails. The group still didn't know much about her except that she was a mage. Everybody kept asking her questions, but Violett refused to tell them anything at all. Yet nobody really thought she was a threat, except for Amy. Maybe she just didn't like Violett because she was closer to Sonics age and rather pretty, too, or maybe she really thought there was something fishy about her. Either way, she simply didn't like her. Tails on the other hand, has closed Violett into his heart. The purple was his best friend, next to Sonic that is.

Knuckles was also on friendly terms with Violett by now. The very moment she promised not to touch the Master Emerald anymore, he liked her.

Rouge thought Violett was nice because she knew a lot about magical gems and would always tell the bat about them whenever she asked her to, Cream was deeply impressed by Violett's ladylike appearance, but hasn't quite gathered the courage to ask her to be like that as well, Vanilla liked the newcomer from the very moment she asked her to join them on their quest. The Chaotix got along well with Violett, too. Espio got over his embarrassment and Charmy was happy that she played a lot with him and Cream. Vector was always as gentlemanlike as he could around her (mostly to impress Vanilla).

And Sonic? Sonic was just glad Violett took care of Tails. The twin-tailed fox was turning back into his old self and it was all thanks to her. Of course, Sonic knew that it would take a long time till Tails was totally normal again, but that was okay. You just had to give him time. That'll heal his wounds. But something about Violett wasn't right. She seemed to get more and more nervous with every passing day. And Sonic wasn't the only one who had noticed that.

"What's wrong, Vi?" Tails asked on the day of departure.

"Whatever do you mean?" Violett asked back.

"I dunno ... you're just acting weird … uhm … restless maybe. Something's bothering you, I can tell."

Silence.

"Won't you tell me what it is?"

"It's been a month and she still hasn't stricken." Violett whispered. "The sooner we leave the better. I don't want to be around when she sees that she lost this round."

And with that she turned and went to help the others carry everything into the ship, leaving a rather confused Tails behind.

Everybody was getting ready for takeoff. Amy, Violett, Cream and Cheese were carrying everything into the ship, while Vector Espio and Charmy were busy bringing everything to the place it belongs. Knuckles has already brought the Chaos – and the Master Emerald to their places and was summoning the Master Emeralds power. Vanilla organized her kitchen and Rouge was checking if all the plains were on board, while Tails was checking if all the systems were running. Sonic was running through the ship, checking every single trap, doorway, security system and so on.

And then Tails lit the engines. The cockpit looked almost the way it did when they went out to destroy the Metarex, only that there were four more seats on either side of the captains seat, in which Tails was sitting. Espio and Cream were sitting in the chairs next to Tails and under them were Amy and Sonic. Rouge was in the chair next to Amy and Vector in the one next to Sonic. The other two chairs were empty. Charmy, Cheese Vanilla and Violett stood in the room, watching the takeoff.

"Cream, how high's the energy rate?" Tails asked.

"Energy is up to 50 percent…60 percent…70 percent…80 percent…90 percent…Energy fully loaded!"

"Espio, transfer Energy to takeoff engine!"

"Energy transferred!"

"Sonic, activate takeoff engine!"

"Takeoff engine activated!"

"Rouge, open the doors and bring the start rampage into position!"

Violett watched amazed how the huge doors opened, creating a hole in the mountain. Slowly, the start rampage lifted itself up, helping the ship to go into the air. Slowly, the ship rose. Violett could soon see the whole forest, a little later, the beach and even later, Amy's house in which she slept in the past days.

"Espio, transfer all Ppower to the main engine!"

"Power transferred!"

And with a "GO!"from Tails, the ship sped off into space.

The same day, an incredibly loud scream could be heard! It came from the room, the sword of Acorns used to be in, but it was a horrible sight to look at. There were many guards dead on the floor which was covered with blood. At the entrance of the pool was a wolf-woman in her late twenties. Her long, black hair was dripping, so was her dark grey fur and voluminous white hair. She was breathing heavily and her face showed pure rage. You could almost see the fire in her orange eyes.

"Told you, you shouldn't have waited so long. You underestimated Violett once again!" Another wolf said.

He was leaning against the wall, hidden in the shadows. His fur was pitch. black, only his tails and bangs had white tips to them. He was wearing nothing but white gloves and a pair of shoes. He had that typical bad boy attitude and was remarkable calm for being in a room full of dead people.

"Shut up!" The wolf-lady spat, putting on her coat and her high heel boots. "They weren't supposed to give it to her. I made sure that they distrusted her!"

That very moment, the doors to the throne-hall opened and in came the whole royal family. Queen Alicia screamed at the sight they saw and buried her face into her much tougher daughters shoulder.

"My goodness" The King whispered and Elias went white under his fur the very moment he saw the wolf lady.

"Ah, the royal family!" The wolf lady smiled, but it vanished instantly. "Where is it?"

"I do not know what you're talking about!" The King replied bravely.

"Oh really?" The cruel smile was back on Lupa's lips. "Perhaps your son knows the answer?"

Elias just looked at Lupa intensively, but he didn't say a word. Lupas eyes narrowed and again, the smile vanished, turning into a snarl.

"She has it right? You idiots gave it to her."

"I still don't know what you're talking about!" The king said again.

Silence…

"How pathetic!" Lupa said. "They're not even worth killing. Come on Shane, let's get outta here."

And she went out of the room, leaving the royal family behind, Shane right on her heals.

/&/&/&/&/&

"Well, well, who do we have here?" Eggman said at the unfamiliar sight of the wolf-lady in front of him.

They were up on a cliff. The weather had turned and instead of sunshine, there was now fog. The sea was crashing against the cliffs and the wind was playing with Lupas coat. Eggman had come here to think of his next plan to take over the world and to get away from Decoe and Bocoe, but instead, she found the wolf lady standing there.

"Who are you and what do you want?" Lupa replied coldly.

"I'm Dr. Eggman, evil genius. And you might be who?"

"Call me Lupa! Now spill it, what do you want from me?"

"Oh, I don't want anything from you. I was just wondering who you were, seeing that you were standing on my place."

"Well that's bad luck, because I'm here now, thinking of how to get that cursed Violett!"

"Violett, you say? You don't mean that purple hedgehog?"

Lupas ears perked up. "Have you met her?" She asked.

"MET HER? She's blasted thousands of my missles at once, that little rodent!"

A wicked smile formed on Lupas lips. "What would you say to getting rid of her?" She asked.

"Nothing! The purple one isn't the one I want. It's the blue one she's with."

"What blue one?" Lupas eyes were only little slits now and her voice was dangerously quiet

"Sonic! He has been foiling one of my plans after the other for years. But now he's flown of with that purple freak and all his rodent friends."

"Perhaps we can make a deal Dr.; you help me get rid of Violett and I help you get rid of Sonic."

"Hmm, I like the sound of that. But perhaps we can discuss that in my base. What would you say to a cup of Tea?"

"I wouldn't say no."

The two went off back into the direction Eggman came from. Eggman looked satisfied into the air, and out Lupas grin became cruel one. She had an ally that knew about Violetts new companions and if she played right, then he could become a powerful ally, too. It was easy to see that Dr. Eggman was good with mechanics and with the technology of the Nyubi she has captured, they could become even better. His technology combined with her magic? Violett didn't stand a chance. Soon her goal would be fulfilled. Nothing could stop a storm as fierce and cruel as her.

**Me: Alright, they left for the adventure and from the next chapter on, Violett won't be as important as she has been until now. My guests this time are Silver and Blaze.**

**Silver: When am I gonna appear in the story? **

**Me: No comment on this one. There's a possibility you won't appear at all, you know?**

**Blaze: What about me?**

**Me: Same.**

**Sliver: Are you gonna bring any other characters at all?**

**Me: I just brought Lupa and Shane into the story.**

**Blaze: I think he meant real Characters, not OCs.**

**Me: Oh, yeah. Violetts going to visit and old friend, soon and you'll never guess who it is.**

**Silver: I thought she isn't gonna play such an important role anymore …**

**Me: She's still important since she's the only one who knows about Lupa and the mysterious items, she's just not as important as she has been for the first Chapters. The main focus is gonna be on Sonic's training and fighting until they reach the first planet. There, focus is gonna be on the characters they're gonna meet and after they leave, the focus is gonna drift to Sonic and Amy.**

**Silver: Oh …**

**Me: I guess that's it for now. And to all those out there, please , PLEASE, review. ****I'm dying for comments here!**


	10. Training Session part 1

**Me: Hi there, I'm bahack!**

**Sonic: Great! So what's gonna happen in this chap?**

**Amy: Are Sonic and I going to marry?**

**Me: Amy, knock it! It's just a bit of magic and a bit of fighting.**

**Knuckles: YES! Finally, a fight! Am I going to be in it?**

**Me: Yes Knuckles, you're going to be the center of the fight.**

**Knuckles: ALRIGHT! *Laughs and punches his fists into the air***

**Tails: When are you going to tell him that he'll look like a dork?**

**Me: Not at all. Sheelaflower does not own Sonic the hedgehog nor any of its characters, except for Violett, Lupa and Shane. All rights belong to Sega.**

Training Session Part 1

Tails was sitting on the captain chair of the Blue Typhoon, typing something into the computer of the ship. There was nobody in the huge cockpit except for him. Why should anyone be there? The autopilot was on and the ship was dazing lazily in space. It was quiet in the cockpit, which was the perfect condition to work for Tails. That way, he could fully concentrate on what he was doing. The only noise that interrupted the silence was a zoom and coming from a blue streak that crossed the room.

"Hey Sonic!" Tails yelled when the blue streak was about to leave the room.

Sonic stopped immediately and ran back to Tails.

"What's up, bro?" He asked.

"Have you seen Vi?"

"Nope! Haven't seen her all day."

It was already the second day the group was on the Blue Typhoon. Things had quickly become quiet as there was nothing to do. Everybody had to entertain themselves somehow. Tails did a great Job by making adjustments on the computer of the ship, while Sonic ran around, doing jobs for his friends.

"What do you need her for?" He asked.

"Well, I think she said that we needed to go to another dimension, but I need her for that. She is the only one who can control in which dimension we'll come out after we activate the dimensional items."

Sonic just looked at him with a puzzled expression.

"The dimensional Items are Items with enormous power that can create holes in the walls that part the different dimensions. Apparently, our new mission is to gather them." Tails explained.

"Oh, okay, I get it now."

"I also need the coordinates of the planet we're heading to."

"Okay, I'll go look for her." Sonic said and sped off.

He ran through half the ship, looking for the newest member of the team, but Violett was nowhere to be found. She wasn't in her room, not with Rouge, not with Vanilla, not with any of the Chaotix and not in any of the floors either. Sonic kept running through the ship until he almost crashed with Cream.

"Oh, Mr. Sonic! It's good that I meet you here. Miss Violett is searching for you." She said as sweet as ever.

"Cool! I'm looking for her, too. Do you know where I can find her?" Sonic asked.

"I think she's still in training hall. At least that's where she was heading when I saw her this morning."

"Thanks Cream! I'm off then!" said Sonic and off he was again, leaving Cream on her own.

She looked after Sonic for a few seconds, who had already disappeared behind the next corner, then turned around and went to Charmy's room. He had invited her over to play and she was humming happily on her way to his room.

The training hall was nothing but a huge battlefield; yet, it was more than enough for Violett, who had stopped her training the moment she felt a great source of power that obviously belonged to Sonic, heading her way. She was just putting her shirt back on when he entered the field.

"Sonic, I've been…" she started, but Sonic wouldn't let her finish.

"Yeah, yeah, you've been looking for me, I know, but before we start on whatever you want from me, could you please go to see Tails first? He's in the cockpit.

"Why should I go to Tails?" Violett asked, tilting her head to the side a little.

"He needs your help on going through another dimension and he needs the coordinates of the planet we're heading to, too."

"WHAT? I haven't given them to him yet?" Violett asked shocked. "I have to go to him immediately!" And with that she ran to the door.

What she hadn't counted with was Sonic. He ran up to her and lifted her bridal style.

"How about I give I give you a lift? It's faster that way." He said and sped off, not even waiting for Violett's answer.

Violett was too surprised to react and by the time she had gotten a hold of herself, they were already halfway to the cockpit.

"Hey Sonic," Amy said when Sonic reached her, but instead of greeting her back, he ran right past her.

"Honestly", she huffed, angered by Sonics behavior, "it wouldn't have killed him to at least say hello, would it?" And with that, she continued going to wherever she went, her eyes closed, her nose high in the air.

"Violett, the items!" Tails said to Violett.

She nodded and lifted both her hands into the air. A sword and a diadem appeared out of nowhere right into them. Then she went to the middle of the room and used her telekinesis to make them float next to her. Next, she took the ring and put it on her right hand, which she stretched out. The ring started glowing, floating and twirling and you could see how Violett released the telekinesis on the sword and the diadem. The glow of the ring took over on the other two items and made sure they stayed in the air.

"Rouge, open the front canon!" Tails ordered Rouge, who sat in the same place as when they took off.

"Coming up, sweety." Rouge answered.

On the very front of the ship there was a blue tip on the yellow cone that disappeared inside and out came a long spear. The end of the spear parted, making it look like a triton with only two tops.

"Alright Vi, go on!" Tails ordered.

Violett did as she was told. On the floor beneath her, a circle with the same strange symbols that were on the dress she used to wear appeared. Around the circle, a ring appeared and many small tracks led away from it, a little like in the inside of a computer. You could clearly see how the energy that Violett gave away appeared on the circle and escaped into the tracks from there. A small ball of white mass appeared in front of the canon.

"Canon ready to fire!" Cream, who was also sitting on the place she sat at the take off, said.

"Alright! Fire Canon!" Tails ordered.

Vector, who sat in the seat next to Cream this time, pushed a button and the small ball of white mass shoot into the nothingness in a white streak.

"Open Portal!" Violett muttered the moment the white streak disappeared.

Everybody who was in the cockpit could see waves appearing in the middle of nowhere and the white mass transformed into a white ring the spread out, creating a hole, also in the middle of nowhere. Tails coordinated the ship right into the hole. It didn't look much different on the other side of the hole, only the stars were located a little different.

"Okay that's it." Violett said.

She took the ring and tied it back around her neck. Then she took the sword and the diadem and made threw them into the air, where they simply disappeared.

"Thanks everybody. You can go do whatever you were doing." Tails said and with that, Cream, Rouge and Vector disappeared into different directions.

Violett went up to Tails and the two talked to each other for a minute, both looking at the screen of the board computer. Tails typed in a few things while Violett showed him a few things.

"WHAT? But that's on the other side of the Universe!" Tails suddenly cried out. "Couldn't you have made us come out a little closer to that planet?"

"I'm sorry, I'm afraid I not. I have mastered to control in which time and in which dimension we land, but not the place. I'm working on it, but I really don't know when I'll be able to do it." Violett apologized.

"It's okay. Don't worry about it. It's not like we don't have time."

Time was the only thing they didn't have at the moment, but Violett wasn't sure it was wise to tell Tails that right now.

"What was I called here for?" Knuckles, who had been standing next to Sonic in the corner of the room, asked.

Tails and Violett looked at each other. "I want to begin training. That's the reason I was looking for Sonic earlier." Violett smiled.

)!)!)!)!)!)!)!)!)!)

"I don't need training!" Knuckles grunted when they were on the battle field.

Sonic, Tails and Knuckles were sitting on the ground, Sonic in the middle. Violett was standing in front of them.

"Alright then, if you don't need training, you may go…."

Knuckles was just about to stand up when Violett continued. "…if you manage to defeat me in a mock battle." She said.

Knuckles said back down and crossed his arms. "I don't fight against girls." He huffed.

"HAHA! Right! Since when?" Sonic laughed. "You're always eager for a fight, no matter with whom!"

Violett could clearly see a vine popping up on Knuckles head. He had a very short temper, Violett had found out that much about him. And the two who could make him mad like no one else were Sonic and Rouge.

"It just doesn't feel right, attacking a helpless lady." Knuckles yelled into Sonics face.

"Then how about you go easy on me?" Violett smiled.

You could clearly see how his little brain was working inside of his head. All three, being Violett, Sonic, Tails and Violett waited patiently for a long while until Sonic's patience came to an end.

"MAKE U P YOUR MIND ALREADY!" He yelled into Knuckles face.

"Alright, I'll fight you!" Knuckles finally said, showing his fist and the two huge Knuckles on it.

Knuckles stood up and got into fighting position. Violett on the other hand just kept standing the way she had all the time, gracefully as ever. Every single move she made was graceful and lady-like. That's one of the reason why Cream looked up to her the way she did; not as her elder sister like Amy, but like an example that she wanted to follow.  
The fact that Violett didn't stir a muscle made Knuckles mad. He charged towards her, but she still didn't move. However, Tails noticed how she was observing Knuckles every move, as she had did with him when they first met. Only when he tried to hit her did she suddenly disappear. Knuckles blinked two times and then noticed the shadow that suddenly covered his face. He looked up and saw Violett, who had jumped high into the air. Gracefully as always, she landed on Knuckles outstretched arm, in the same position she was in before she jumped. The amazing thing about it was that she made it look easy, as if it didn't take any effort at all.

"What on … ?" Knuckles said, not quite grasping what just happened.

With a grunt, he threw the arm Violett was standing on up. She didn't lose balance and fall, like Knuckles hoped. Instead, she used that force to heave herself even higher into the air. Knuckles jumped after her and tried to punch her again, but Violett threw her upper body backwards and with a somersault backwards, she landed gracefully on the floor. Knuckles tried to hit her by crashing his foot down on her, using the speed of his fall, but Violett jumped backwards. But before she did, Tails noticed how a small smirk made its way to Violett's lips.  
When Violett straightened up, Tails noticed that there was a difference in her stance, though he couldn't quite figure out what it was.

"Alright, that's it! No more Mister Nice Guy!" Knuckles yelled.

"Now he's pissed." Sonic whispered to Tails, who nodded in agreement.

Knuckles charged towards Violett again and this time, he tried hitting her with full force. Tails was the only one who actually saw Violett move. In the very last moment, she moved none foot to the side and her whole body turned with it. Because of that one move, Knuckles fist passed right by her and he only punched the air. He tried punching her Violett over and over again, but she dodged every single move, with the least of effort, doing only one or two steps.

Tails eyes widened when he looked closely at her movements. He noticed that sometimes, she moved before even Knuckles did. Could she foresee his movements? Sonic had just the same thoughts. Violett didn't even pay attention to Knuckles.

"ARGH! WHY ON EARTH CAN'T I HIT YOU?" He yelled.

Violett only smiled. Knuckles was sweating and breathing heavily by now, but Violett didn't seem to have used any energy at all. Sonic and Tails knew why, of course; while Knuckles did huge movements over and over again, using up a lot of his energy, Violett only did a step or two to dodge every single punch, using up hardly any energy at all. She was well trained, that much was for sure.

"You two can help out, you know." She said, to Sonic and Tails.

The two looked at each other for a second, before standing up and joining the fight. Nothing changed, however. Violett made big movements the first few times, but then started evading every attack with just a few steps. Not even Sonic's super speed or combo-attacks could get to her. They tried over and over and over again, but nothing worked. In the end, all three were out of breath. They were on the floor in front of Violett, who was still in the same condition she was in before they started fighting. On the other hand, Sonic Tails and Knuckles could hardly move. Knuckles was lying flat on the floor, Tails was on all fours and Sonic could just barely keep his upper body up. All three were totally out of breath and were sweating like mad.

"I defeated you without even touching you or using an attack." Violett smiled.

Sonic forced one eye open and looked at Violett. "Can you foresee our attacks?" He asked her.

"I definitely know that I don't have any seer-powers, if that's what you mean." She answered.

"Then why can't any of us hit you?" Knuckles asked weakly.

"Yeah! You make a move to evade before we even do the attack. How is that possible if you can't see into the future?" Tails cried.

"Only because I can't see into the future doesn't mean that I don't know what you next move is going to be." Violett said calmly.

Sonic Tails and knuckles looked at each other. "How … ?" Sonic started, but he didn't know how to go on, but Violett understood anyways.

"That is for you to figure out." She said. "I will give each of you homework; you are to figure out how to hit me. Of course, in order to be able to that, you have to figure out my trick. You are not allowed to go ask anyone for the solution." With that, she looked at Knuckles. "You are not allowed to ask for anyone's help." With that, she looked at Sonic. "And you are not allowed to give any hints or help as soon as you've figured out the trick." With that, she looked at Tails.  
"We shall meet again tomorrow, same time, same place. And let me tell you this; you have started training together, but each one of you will advance differently. That's why you'll soon be training separately. It might even be the case that you'll start training separately starting tomorrow, since you are only to come if you have finished the homework I gave you."

Violett looked at each of them. During her speech, she seemed like a really firm teacher, but then she smiled and looked like the graceful young lady that she is again.

"Dismissed", she smiled.

Sonic, Tails and Knuckles stood up and dragged their feet to the huge common room. All three let themselves fall on the couches and groaned.

"I'm beat!" Knuckles mumbled.

"Yeah, so am I." Tails agreed. "Who knew Vi had it in her like that? She doesn't seem like the fighter-type to me."

Sonic didn't say anything. His mind was already on Violett's homework. How do you defeat somebody who knows your next move? And how do you foresee moves without having any seer-powers? There was one thing Sonic knew; this was going to be pretty hard to figure out.

**Me: Okay, that's the first part of Training Session for you.**

**Sonic: Darn, that Violett is good.**

**Violett: Thank you.**

**Sonic: Whoa, Vi, don't sneak up on me like that, you gave me a heart attack!**

**Violett: Sorry**

**Sonic: Why is Vi so good in battling?**

**Me: You'll find out in the fourth season. But if you want to know the answer to her task, stay tuned!**


	11. Training Session part 2

**Sonic: Hey Sheelaflower, what's the answer to Vi's question?"**

**Me: You know I'm not allowed to tell you that, don't you?**

**Sonic: Aw, come on! Vi won't know.**

**Violett: I know of every single move you make Sonic. Don't you dare ask Sheelaflower again or I'll be the one kill you.**

**Snic: Creepy!**

**Knuckles: When will we have some real fighting?**

**Me: Be patient Knuckles. As soon as it's starts you'll be wishing the fighting would stop, cause this is going to be some real dangerous fighting you guys are gonna go through and there'll be plenty of it, too.**

**Amy: What about some Sonamy scenes?**

**Sonic: AMY!**

**Me: Already on it!**

**Amy: Yay!**

**Sonic: WHAT?**

**Me: Alright, the disclaimer; I do not own Sonic the hedgehog. All rights belong to Sega. And on with the story.**

Training Session Part 2

How do you beat someone that knows your next move? And how is it possible for someone to foresee someone's moves without seeing into the future? Sonic was lying in a hammock he built up in his room on the Blue Typhoon, trying to get the answer to these questions. He's been pondering about it for almost an hour and he's no farther to the answer then he was a few hours ago, when he fought against Violett. But then again, thinking about this at least kept him busy.

Suddenly, the doors to his room opened, ripping Sonic out of his thoughts. He lost balance in surprise and fell out of his hammock on his head.

"Ow …" He said, sitting up and rubbing his head.

"Oops, was that me?" an all too familiar voice came from above.

"Amy?" Sonic said, looking up at the pink hedgehog. "Don't scare me like that."

"I scared you?" Amy asked, crouching down so that she would be head to head with Sonic. "That's weird. You don't usually scare that easily"

"You're right …" Sonic noticed.

"Is there something bothering you?"

"Yeah, you could say that."

"Why don't you tell me? Maybe I can help."

"I'm sure you could at least push me in the right direction, but I'm not allowed to ask for help. I have to figure this out on my own."

"Oh please! You just don't think that I'm capable of helping you, am I right?" Amy huffed, putting her hands on her sides.

Sonic grinned to himself. It was amazing how different the movements between Amy and Violett were. Amy's movements were girlish and charming, while Violett's were graceful and controlled. She would never put her hands to her side the way Amy always does when she huffs. When Sonic thought about that, he noticed how Violett always looked at people as if trying to read in them. And he also noticed that that was exactly what he just did. Amy was girlish, had short temper and was always cheerful and her movements represented it. Violett was movements were Lady-like, always in control of her emotions and didn't give anyone the chance to find out things about her, just like the person itself.

'Sonic?" Amy said, waving a hand in front of Sonics nose.

"You know what Amy?" He said. "I think you already did help me."

Sonic looked exactly at Amy's movements. Her whole body showed confusion and that's exactly what she felt right now. Sonic suddenly noticed that he has always read in movements unconsciously, but if someone like Violett were to control and train that ability; Sonic wasn't sure he even wanted to know what she could read out of peoples movements.

"Anyways, dinners ready." Amy said and stood up.

She held a hand out for Sonic to help him up, too. Sonic accepted it with one afterthought; who knew what Violett could read out of a single movement like this.

"Hey Tails, did you already figure the answer?" Sonic asked Tails.

Everybody was sitting at the dinner table, enjoying Vanillas delicious cooking. Of course, she has had two, no three good helpers; Cream, Cheese and Amy. There were all kinds of delicious stuff on the table; rice balls, backed potatoes, hamburgers, French-fries and Sonics favorite, Chilidogs.

"What answer?" Tails asked back, stuffing a noodle into his mouth.

"The answer to Violett's homework."

"Oh, sure! It's pretty simple, really. At least in theory. I can't imagine actually doing it, not enough time."

Opposite of Sonic was Knuckles, who ate his food in probably one bite before reaching for more. Next to him was Vector, who was chatting with Vanilla while eating some ice-cream. Vanilla was done eating and sat between Vector and her daughter. Amy sat next to Sonic and on her other side was Violett, who just put the last piece of Lasagna on her plate.

"You know that you probably ate half of the lasagna, don't you?" Amy asked her.

"Yes, I'm aware of that."

"And you know that you ate a huge plate of salad, three rice-balls, a steak with French-fries, spaghetti and a half a crab." Amy went on disgusted.

"I use up a lot of energy with my magic. I have to get it back somehow."

"You're not doing that much magic."

Violett didn't respond on that. Her almost always present smile vanished for an instance. Her whole face darkened for only a split second, before it went back to normal. Luckily, Amy didn't see.

After dinner, Sonic went back on his hammock to think about the answer to Violett's task. The only difference was that he had a point where he could start. Violett could figure out people by reading their movements, so maybe, if Sonic could recall Violett's movements when they were battling, he could find out something about her. Sonic closed his eyes tightly and tried to picture the way Violett had been moving when they had battled. The first few dodges looked like normal evasion moves, but then they rapidly changed; it didn't seem like she was evading anymore. Something was off, but what? Sonic tried picturing the scene without him and what he saw made Sonic fall of his hammock again; Violett was dancing.

Violett was doing nothing but dancing. It was a very simple dance, but it was enough to evade every single attack. That's why she hadn't paid attention to her opponents, there was no need to. All she had to do was do the right steps and no one could get to her. But there was another problem; how did she know which steps to make? What was her rhythm? Sonic thought and thought, but he just couldn't figure it out. One hour passed, two hours passed and still Sonic was laying in his hammock, thinking. And so he thought until he fell asleep.

:;:;:;:;

A small blue hedgehog gritted his teeth. He was lying on the floor, struggling to stand up. His blue fur was full of mud and his T-Shirt was stained with dirt. He looked at the small silhouette brown, standing in front of him.

"How do you do that?" The five year old Sonic asked.

"Why should I tell you? I'd be taking the only advantage I had." Five year old Sally Acorn said.

"Oh come on, Sal! Please?"

"Wow! Sonic the hedgehog is begging. You don't get that every day."

Sonic growled and then charged at her with his super speed. But Sally easily dodged and held her arm in a height of her and Sonic's neck. Sonic ran right into it and fell on the ground again. He groaned and sat up, looking a Sally. She giggled and held out a hand to help Sonic up, who looked away and pouted.

"Oh come on! Just because there's someone stronger then you doesn't mean you have to be all worked up about it." Sally huffed.

Sonic didn't answer. Sally sighed and sat down next to him, not caring if her green belly-dancer outfit got dirty. The two of them just sat there, watching the sun disappears in the green forest. Sonic made sure he looked away from Sally. He was mad at her for beating him.

"You know, Julayla once told me that, no matter how good you are, there is always someone better then you."

Silence…

"She also told me that I have to learn how to deal with that. Instead of sulking, I should learn from them."

"I wanted to, but you don't want to tell me the trick!" Sonic murmured.

"Haha! You got me there. Alright, if you really want to know, I'll tell you."

"REALLY?" Sonic beamed, standing up.

"Sure!" Sally also stood up. "You just have to figure out your opponents style of moving."

"Huh?"

"Every person has a different pattern on their hands and eyes, right? That way, machines and security systems are able to tell that it's you."

Sonic nodded.

"And it is the same with your movements. Every person has a unique style of moving, because the steps of every single person are different. If you manage to look through that pattern, you can tell what the next move is that your opponent is going to make and you just make a countermove to it."

"Oh, I see. But how are you supposed to figure out someone's moves?"

"By getting to know your opponent. I know you really good, so it's easy for me to foretell what you are going to do. When I told you that it's rare to see you beg, I knew that you were going to charge at me, because that's typical for you."

"But if you fight someone you don't know that good, then that tactic is no use, right?"

"Right! But appearently, there are experts who can figure out the movement pattern of a person in a few minutes. And not only that, they are able to create their own movements based on theirs and so, all they do is concentrate on those and the enemy can't get to them."

"Wow. I bet you have to train years for that." Sonic said in awe.

"Julayla said that people like these have trained half their lives to perfect that strategy." Sally sighed.

"Hey, wanna fight again?"

"Sure! But there's no way you can beat me. Only because you know the trick doesn't mean you can use it."

Sally got into fighting position and so did Sonic. Then, they charged at each other.

";";";";";"

Sonic opened his eyes, smiling at memory of his old days with Sally. It had been a long time since he least thought, let alone dreamt of them. And now he knew the answer. Or better, he had known it all along and had found it in his memories.

Sonic heaved himself out of his hammock and looked at the clock. It was already eleven am. Training would start in a quarter of an hour. Sonic put on his shoes and splashed some water on his face. Then he ran to the training hall as fast as he could, almost running down Espio, Vanilla and Vector, Amy and Charmy and Cream on the way.

"Hey Sonic!" Tails exclaimed when Sonic entered the battle field.

"Good to see you, Sonic." Violett smiled.

Knuckles hadn't arrived yet, but there were still eight minutes left until training started. Tails had sat down in front of Violett, like last time. Sonic walked up to him and sat down, too. The two chatted with each other for a few minutes until Knuckles appeared and sat down next to Sonic.

"Alright then," Violett started, "since you have all appeared that means all three of you have found out how to hit me. Now, who wants to try, first?"

"I DO!" All three yelled at the same time.

They stared at each other for a few seconds until they silently agreed that Sonic would go and try first.

He stood up and stared at Violett, who stared right back. For a few seconds, no one moved. Then, Sonic charged. He ran towards Violett at full speed, but she dodged. Sonic noticed that she had used just the same steps as Sally had all these years ago. He turned around and charged at Violett again. He tried punching and kicking her over and over again, but just like last time, Violett dodged every single attack with the least of effort.

And then came the perfect opportunity; When Violett dodged Sonics left fist, Sonic made one step that caused his whole body to turn, but it brought him off balance, It was a move that was rather untypical for him and he was not used to it, but it worked. All he did was aim one kick at Violett from his new position and it hit her belly, causing her to fly backwards.

"ALRIGHT! I DID IT!" Sonic cheered, as did Knuckles and Tails.

Violett smiled and stood back up. She congratulated Sonic and ordered him to sit down. Next was Tails and then Knuckles. Both managed to land a hit on Violett and she seemed satisfied with the results.

"You have all done very well." She said. "I could not be happier with you right now."

Sonic, Tails and Knuckles smiled at each other. They were also satisfied and happy about Violett's praise.

"If one manages to see through the style of someone's movements, they are able to foresee their opponent's next move without looking into the future." Violett went on. "You three are not yet ready to learn this technique. However, the foes you will face have perfected it, so in order to beat them, you have to know how change your style of moving constantly. One single move is not enough for that, especially if it gets you out of balance. That is the very first thing I will teach you."

Sonic, Tails and Knuckles looked at each other, all thinking the same thought; this will be some harsh training. Violett smiled at each of them, but for the very first time, Sonic felt uneasy about it. He looked closely and noticed that it was fake. And suddenly, he became very aware of Violett's calm presence. Beneath her masquerade was something Sonic had no clue of. He felt a heart that wasn't as pure as all the others he has encountered so far. This heart was tainted. Sonic had just learned how to look in to a person.

And he definitely didn't like what he saw. What was this mystery that called itself Violett?

**Me: Okay, that's the last no-action-chappie for a while. You guys ready to fight? **

**Everybody: YEAH!**

**Me: Good, then I'll give you some teasers of what awaits you guys in the next chapters; Lupa and the Crew will collide for the first times. How dangerous is Lupa really? Do Sonic and the others stand a chance? Furthermore, the crew finally lands on their destination, where a HUGE surprise is waiting for them and you'll never guess what. Get ready for some action, romance, drama and the usual chaos. Stay tuned!**


	12. Fight to protect

**Me: Hello everybody! I have my netbook back and the story is more than ready to go on.**

**Sonic: About time!**

**Me: Be nice or I'll let Shadow have Amy!**

**Shadow: I like this plan!**

**Sonic: So do I! I'll finally get rid of Amy!**

**Amy: WHAT? Sonic, how can you be so cold! Sheelaflower, I'll kill you for bringing that up!**

**Me: Shadow, do the disclaimer, please! I gotta run away from Amy!**

**Amy: Oh no you don't! Come back here you little overgrown cat!**

**Shadow: Whatever … Sheelaflower does no own Sonic the hedgehog nor any of its characters! All rights belong to Sega. **

Fight to protect

It was already the fourth training session for Sonic, Knuckles and Tails. It had turned out that the only reason they were able to hit Violett the other day was because she let them hit her. Every time either of the three made a move that didn't fit into their own fighting style, all they managed to do was to get Violett to do a bigger movement, like jumping. But even that didn't manage to throw her off her pace; because it also had turned out she had amazing stamina.

Sonic shot one hit after the other at his trainer without being able to land a single one. But that was the training was all about; if Sonic couldn't change his own style of moving, there was no way he could hit Violett. Only, in order to do just that, he had to wait for the perfect opportunity and soon, it came. Violett was very close to Sonic when he took the chance to strike from below. He moved his foot upwards, forcing Violett to stop her dance and evade by jumping backwards.

Tails popped out from behind Sonic, who had lost balance from almost doing a split, trying to get to Violett who was still in the air. On her other side, Knuckles appeared charging towards her, ready to punch. The very moment they wanted to strike the falling Violett, she grabbed Tails feet and tipped Sonic with the tip of her foot, causing him fall backwards since he was still of balance. Tails got thrown of balance too, from the sudden extra-weight and fell on Knuckles. Violett herself jumped of Knuckles head to get away in time, avoiding the two clashing persons behind her.

"You can try whatever you want, Sonic. It won't work." Violett said, walking to Sonic, shaking her head over him.

She stretched her hand out towards Sonic to help him get back on his feet. He just looked at her and growled. Being beaten over and over again by a girl that was younger than him didn't exactly help raise his ego.

"How often do I have to tell you that the point of this training is to learn how to make movements different from your own style without getting off balance?" Violett continued. "Trying to get Tails and Knuckles to distract me while you get back on your feet is cheating. There is a possibility they won't be there when you fight against the enemy and then what will you do?"

"I just don't like being the worse then Tails and Knuckles." Sonic mumbled.

"You do know that the reason you don't advance as quickly as Knuckles and Tails is that you have to be a tad slower until you're really good at it, don't you? Your speed is what's holding you back."

"Yeah, you already told me."

"Then why are still fighting in your normal pace?"

"Because I'm Sonic the hedgehog! I'm the fastest thing alive! Going slow is unnatural for me."

Tails and Knuckles looked at each other and Violett sighed. How could be anyone be so stubborn. The only ones to surpass Sonic in stubbornness were Amy and Knuckles, though Knuckles was making good progress in training, as was Tails. The only one who stayed behind was Sonic and it drove him up the wall.

"It would help if you would at least try. You're going to regret that you didn't listen to me when you face our enemy." Violett said.

"What's so special about this mysterious new enemy anyways? I bet I could defeat him just like all the others!" Sonic pouted.

"It wouldn't be wise to tell you."

"Then how are we supposed t defeat him?" Knuckles spoke up.

"Knuckles is right? How can we defeat an enemy we don't know?" Tails agreed. "There's no logic in this. Knowledge is our advantage, not our disadvantage!"

"It might not sound logical, but you have a better chance to survive if you don't know her then if you did."

"But how's that possible?" Tails cried.

"You'll find out soon enough." Violett answered.

Suddenly, the intruder alert went on, making Violett look dumbfounded at red emergency lights.

"Not that soon!" She yelled through the howls of the sirens.

The quartet made their way out of the battle field and to the cockpit, where the rest of the gang had already gotten together. Everybody looked a little frightened and unsure of what to do, but you could see the relief in their faces when the four entered.

"What's going on?"Amy yelled.

"That's the intruder alarm. Someone is trying to invade the Blue Typhoon!" Tails yelled back.

"So what do we do now?" Vector asked.

Tails went up to the captains seat and called up all security cameras. Everybody was quiet, waiting for Tails to give instruction. The only noise were the loud howls of the sirens, which was enough to make everybody's eardrums hurt.

"They're close to energy chambers, but that could just be a trap! Sonic, you go and get them! And take Espio with you for backup!"

Sonic nodded and sped off towards the location of the enemies while Espio literally disappeared. Everybody looked at the corner Sonic had disappeared, waiting for something to happen. What nobody noticed was that Violett suddenly looked up, turning her head from side to side as if looking for something, only that it wasn't a visible thing she was looking for. Violett tried to find the direction the presence that suddenly appeared came from. _She was here._

Only a few minutes after Sonic and Espio left, everyone looked at the big screen, seeing Sonic trashing up some weird looking robots without even being visible.

"These aren't Eggman's robots, that much is for sure." Tails said when he zoomed closer to them.

Sonic had all of them trashed in no time, but then weird creatures appeared out of nowhere and charged at Sonic, who dodged with ease. They were covered in black, from head to toe and it almost seemed as if they had no faces. Strange patterns were on their arms and legs, making them look somewhat creepy. It was Sonic's time to show everyone what he could really do and went straight on, wanting to punch. But just before his fist collided with one of the creatures, it vanished, just like that.

Too late, Sonic noticed that the creature he was about to trash had somehow reappeared behind him. He would have probably been knocked unconscious if Espio hadn't seen that Sonic was in trouble. Just in time, he threw two or three shuriken at the creature with utmost precision, saving Sonic for the moment while ducking the fist of another creature. Another one attacked Espio, which he dodged by jumping backwards, standing back to back with Sonic.

'Thanks buddy!" Sonic said, the two of them surrounded by a small army of the black creatures and new robots.

"Don't thank me yet", Espio replied.

The two of them fought as good as they could, with spin dashes, shuriken and all sorts of things, but the creatures just couldn't get hit. Every time Sonic attacked one, they disappeared and appeared in another place and every time Espio landed a hit by being invisible, the creature just put itself back together. They were fighting a battle that was already lost and soon, Sonic and Espio had to draw back into the cockpit.

"Everybody, get ready to fight", Tails commanded and jumped of the captains seat to Sonic's side.

As he commanded, everyone got into fighting position, even little Cream and her chao Cheese. Only seconds later, the black creatures entered the cockpit with a few new robots on their side. Suddenly, Tails thought of something that made him want to hit himself; Violett had always talked about an enemy, but not about what kind of enemy. She might know something about these black creatures. It was so obvious; why hadn't he thought about it earlier? Maybe she even knew how to defeat them.

"Vi, do you know anything about these things?" Tails asked.

No one answered.

"Vi?" He said, looking around. Everybody mimicked him, looking for the newest member of the team, but Violett was nowhere to be found.

/!/!/!/!/!/!/!/!/!/!/!/!

"I should have known that I couldn't deceive your skilled senses." Lupa smirked, looking at a creature that was hiding in the shadows of the blue typhoon.

"You're pretty cocky, entering this ship all by yourself." Violett stepped out of the shadows.

Her smile was gone and the look in her eyes would have made any ordinary person to run for it … but not Lupa.

"I have many strong allies and with their help, I am more than capable of destroying you." Violett growled.

"I don't think so. You see, I have this strong new partner that knows all about your allies. He told me and now I know all their weaknesses." The evil smirk did not leave Lupa's lips, but Violett stayed calm.

"You wanted to scan the ship, looking for ways to destroy it, didn't you?" Violett asked.

"Oh my, you got me all figured out, don't you? You got even smarter since the last time I saw you. Congrats!" Lupa teased.

Violett wasn't impressed. The look on her face did not change one bit, which made Lupa's smirk turn into a snarl. Violett took the ring from her neck and put it on her finger, getting into fighting position, as did Lupa.

Without saying another word, a few balls of purple energy formed around Violett and charged towards Lupa, who countered with dark blue energy balls. The balls collided and the hallway filled itself with dust. Lupa stayed calm and closed her eyes, while her ears started twitching into different directions. Then, she opened her eyes again and looked up, seeing Violett's figure jumping down at her, using the dust to stay almost invisible. Lupa just smirked. She stretched out her left arm into Violett's direction and started building up energy that was visible through the wind that caused the sleeve of her coat to flow, revealing a golden bracelet. On the tip of every single one of Lupa's fingers, a black mass of energy appeared, that soon shot into Violett's direction in form of a rope. The tip of the ropes wrapped themselves around Violett's foot, causing her to fall to the ground before she reached Lupa.

But Violett wasn't done yet. She used her wrapped up ankle to bring Lupa out of balance and with another tug, she caused her to fall. Then she jumped on top of her and held a knife that came out of nowhere to her neck.

"I am NOT going to let you hurt Tails and the others!" she hissed right into Lupa's face.

Lupa looked at Violett with an utterly shocked expression at first, but then, the evil grin returned.

"So just quit your games. I already figured out how to win them." Violett totally ignored the change in Lupa's face.

"You seem to forget one thing, though. These games are mine and only I know of all the rules."

Without Violett noticing, Lupa had managed to get her feet onto Violett's belly and now, she kicked her of herself, making her fly high into the air. When she reached the highest point, a ring suddenly appeared around Violett's wrist that kept her in midair. Violett pulled and tugged on it, but as she did, another ring appeared around her other wrist and one around each ankle.

Lupa floated up to Violett so that she was face to face with her opponent.

"You seem to have grown quite fond of the little niyubi. Isn't he a little young to be your boyfriend?" Lupa asked.

"He's not my boyfriend. He already has someone he loves." Violett spat back.

"Of course, what was I thinking? Nobody could ever love _you, _not after what you've done."

Violett didn't answer. She looked down to the ground, her hard expression turning into one full of guilt and even some irritation if you looked close enough

"Oh, I see. You haven't told them yet." Lupa said.

Still, Violett didn't answer.

"Don't worry, little Violett. I won't be so mean as to tell them and I doubt you will either. But you know, their trust towards you will grow and when they find out, then the disappointment they'll have in you will be even bigger." Lupa's smile turned from evil into devilish. "It's only a matter of time. Sooner or later, something will happen that will get you as worked up as you were back then."

"NEVER!" Violett shouted right into Lupa's face, what just made her smirk even bigger.

"You know, you're a very worthy opponent, little Violett." Lupa smirked. "The only reason I have been able to beat you so easily all the time, is because of these binds. As long as you don't figure out how to break free, our fights will always end this way. And now, you will tell me one thing; which planet are you headed to?"

Violett didn't say anything. She glared at Lupa with the same scowl that had made Sonic think that she would kill any moment.

"You really mastered the art of looking scary, but that won't hinder me from getting my answers. Now tell me, which planet are you headed to?"

Still, Violett glared, not saying anything, which made Lupa snarl again.

"Very well then! Have it your way!" Lupa spat and brought her left hand to Violett's chest.

Suddenly, Violett screamed out in agony and she didn't stop until Lupa took her hand of Violett's chest. Her head fell to her chest limply and the rest of her body went limp, too, but Lupa didn't give her any rest. She place one finger under Violett's chin and lifted her head so that she would look into her eyes. The look on Violett's face however, hasn't changed, which made Lupa's blood boil.

"I'll ask you one more time," she said dangerously quiet. "Which planet are you headed to?"

|\|\|\|\|\

"This way, I think I heard her scream!" Tails yelled at the others.

What Tails really wanted to do when he had noticed that Violett was gone was to go look for her. The problem was, that the black creatures had kept them more then busy. Hardly anyone could destroy any of them, making this one of the most frustrating fights the team has ever fought. For some reason though, the creatures had disappeared after a few minutes and the robots retreated. That gave them enough time to go look for Violett's disappearance. Right at the moment, nobody knew where Violett could have gone to until Tails heard a scream, coming from a narrow corridor.

"This way!" He yelled, pointing at the corridor the scream came from

They ran for a while, Tails in the lead until he suddenly came to an abrupt halt. He crouched down picking up something from the floor. His eyes were wide and full of worry as he looked at the little object in his hands.

"That's Vi's ring!" He said to no one in particular. "What on earth happened to her?"

"Look!" He suddenly heard Amy gasp and turned around, only to see her pointing to the ceiling.

Tails looked up, only to see Violett hanging in midair. He, Charmy, Rouge and Cream flew up to her and saw the binds that kept her where she was. They also saw that she was unconscious and looked terrible, even though she didn't have any real injuries. All four of them took one bind and pulled on them as hard as they could.

"Don't bother." A weak voice suddenly said. "You can only get rid of those if you have really strong magic. Besides, they'll vanish any moment now."

"Vi, what happened?" Tails asked concerned, letting go of the bind.

"Nothing to worry about. But if you don't mind, I would like to rest a little."

The gentle smile was back on Violett's lips, but she looked very, very weak. Tails opened his mouth to say something, but that very moment, the binds vanished and he was busy getting Violett down to the ground safely.

"Is there any way to get to the next planet faster?" Violett asked as soon as she was on the ground. Her legs weren't able to carry her, so she laid down, her head resting in Vanilla's arms.

"Well, there is one way, but I'm not sure if it'll work in this dimension. I don't know about the mayor differences here. In the worst case, we could all get stuck in a space portal and never come out." Tails answered.

"We have to take that risk." Violett said weakly. "Luckily, she doesn't know where we're headed to yet, but she'll find out. We have to be long gone before she does."

"Who are you talking about Vi? Who's not supposed to find out? Who are we up against? Violett!" Tails yelled at her.

But talking to her was no use. Violett had already lost consciousness again.

**Sonic: okay, that was it for that chapter!**

**Knuckles: Finally some fighting!**

**Silver: It's time for me to appear … you all have done enough!**

**Blaze: I highly agree with you, Silver. But we have a bigger problem right now.**

**Silver: Really? What?**

**Blaze: Sheelaflower is missing.**

**Everybody: …**

**Violett: If you're searching for her, she's hiding from Amy and her hammer.**

**Everybody: …**

**Violett: But she told me to say this; Chapter thirteen is going to take a while. Sheelaflower has a lot of designing for it to do. Also, a special thanks to Speedlion for beta-reading this story, starting from this chapter. And for everyone reading this; check out his fanfic 'Shattered Frredom Fighters'. Anyone who wants to join, feel free to ask him! **

**Silver: I don't get it …**

**Blaze: That's probably because you haven't read the story.**

**Silver: Oh …**

**Sonic: Well, that's it for now! Comment please, we'd all be happy!**


	13. New planet number one

**Me: Next chap out! FINALLY! I don't know how many fans this fic has, but judging from the small amount of reviews I got so far, I'd say there aren't many. I wonder why, though. If I could just get some nice criticism, telling me what I'm doing wrong …**

**Amy: But you already did! From Elise, remember?**

**Me: But I already took her advice. I rewrote the whole thing (especially the first chap three chaps), changed the name and wrote a new summary. So what on earth am I doing wrong?**

**Amy: Maybe the crowd just isn't interested in a story like yours.**

**Me: Maybe you're right. But I won't stop writing even if the people don't like my story, simply cuz it's fun.**

**Amy: That's the spirit.**

**Me: Yeah … whatever. I do not own Sonic the hedgehog nor any of its characters except for Violett. All rights belong to Sega. **

New planet number one

Imagine the Himalaya. Imagine the highest of mountains, those that are higher even than the clouds. Imagine standing on top of them, looking down at the white mass below you, the only other visible thing being the tip of the other mountains raging out of it. Imagine that scene and you are seeing what Sonic and the gang are seeing, only that the mountains are not a bit higher than the clouds, but a lot.

The Blue Typhoon has landed on a huge mountain range, the smallest mountain being as high as out Mount Everest. Landing has been a problem at first until Tails had found the perfect place, a rather large, plain level just above the clouds. The very moment Sonic had stepped out of the spaceship, he had looked up.

"I wonder how high that mountain is", he had said and had sped upwards.

"SONIC, WAIT", Amy had immediately followed him.

One after another had run upwards just like Sonic and where just as awed as he was when they had reached the top of the mountain, looking down on the scene you just imagined. The wind was playing with their fur and clothes, but it just made everything seem even more fantastic.

"Wow …", Sonic breathed.

"That's amazing", Amy sighed.

"But where exactly are we?" Tails asked, bringing everybody back to reality. "Violett, which way should we go?"

The female closed her eyes. Though each and every single eye was set on Violett, nobody could see that she was scanning the area. A few seconds later, she opened them again and smiled.

"Follow me!" she said and started walking downwards on the opposite side they came up on.

Sonic and Knuckles looked at each other for a split second before they followed the purple magician. One after another, the members of the Sonic Team started walking and it didn't take long until they reached the clouds. Violett walked straight into the soft mass, seemingly enjoying the wetness. Sonic on the other hand stopped in his tracks right in front of the clouds, eyes twitching.

"HERE I COME!" Amy yelled from behind.

Sonic turned around and saw the pink hedgehog running straight towards the mass Sonic refused to walk into; straight towards him. Sonic yelped and jumped aside while Amy ran right passed him, disappearing into the clouds, Cream right on her heels. Sonic tried balancing himself on one foot, but it didn't manage it in the end. It came the way it had to come; Sonic fell right into the wet white fluff.

"WATER!" he cried when his head parted from the floor. "WHY DOES IT ALWAYS HAVE TO BE WATER?"

"Don't be such a crybaby." Knuckles appeared in front of him.

He grabbed the blue blur by his neck and pulled him back on his feet. Sonic shot gave a death glare, but Knuckles just sighed and walked away, disappearing into the thick fog. Grumbling miserably, Sonic followed him. To his luck, it didn't take that long until they reached the other side of the clouds, but he bumped into Amy the Moment he stepped out of the uncomfortable wet.

"Now what?" he asked nobody in particular.

Amy turned to him and smiled widely.

"Look!" she just said and grabbed his arm to pull him forward to her side and leaned her head on his shoulder. "It's dreamy."

Sonic was once again amazed. In front of them was first of all, the huge mountain range. Even beyond the white, but thick clouds was still ice on the mountains. In the valley to the mountain's feet was a stream, matching to the range's size. But the one thing that caught everybody's eye was the city in the middle of the stream. Even where the crew was standing could they tell how enormous its size must have been. Though they were too far away to catch details, everybody was able to make out the large round building in the middle of the city. In the middle of that building was a tower, raging up higher than any other.

The first one to catch herself was Violett, who took the lead again. Rouge was right on her heels and with a bit of space, Knuckles followed. With these three in the lead, one after another started walking downwards towards the stream, Sonic and Amy being last; Sonic because he wasn't exactly pleased that he had to get close to water again and Amy because she wanted to stay close to Sonic.

When they reached the river, they paused for a bit, giving those a break who weren't used to such tours. Everybody was okay with that except for Violett. She kept looking over to the city, wanting to reach it as fast as possible. If she hadn't had so many companions, she probably would have used transformation magic to grow herself wings and fly there. Next to the sudden lack of patience, Sonic noticed another change around Violett. She was smiling. Not that fake smile she always wore, more like that of a child that can't wait to get its Christmas present. Violett had been in a very good mood ever since she recovered from the attack the other day. Sonic found it creepy.

It wasn't a big surprise to him that Violett was the happiest when break time was over and the crew got moving again. The magician led them all the way along the river up to the very first bridge that connected the city on the river with the land. Compared to many other bridges it was small and yet so big in size that all kinds of market stands had enough space to sell their goods. When especially the girls looked for stuff to buy, they saw that the stands out here sold mostly souvenirs. What surprised pretty much everybody was that all the citizens were animas, much like themselves, which made sure they didn't stand out.

The city walls were so high that not even Sonic would have been able to jump over them and looked solid enough to withstand Knuckles' fists and Rouge's kicks combined. The city gates were as wide as the bridge and half as high as the walls with two mice guarding them. Sonic guessed that they were just show, seeing that they let everybody pass through. While walking through the gates, they saw that it consisted out of four doors on each half; one lattice door that has be pulled up, a solid wooden gate, a solid iron door that has to be pulled up as well and one graceful iron gate that is more suited for show than for protection.

If possible, Sonic and co's eyes went even wider when they passed the walls and entered the city. There is only one city on earth that could possibly be compared with what the crew saw, even if the sizes are completely different; Venice. There were more channels than streets and houses as far as the eye could see in all shapes and colors. All kinds of boats were on the channels; from old Viking like ships over to Venetian gondolas all the way to high tech ferry's that surpass even Tails' mechanical know-how.

"Just great!" Sonic moaned. "More water!"

"Don't be like that. I think it's wonderful", Violett smiled and walked on.

It didn't take long until they reached the first plaza. It was small compared to the rest of the city, but still big enough for Sonic and co. All kinds of market stands could be found here, even one that sold boats. Next to the stands, there were also all kinds of different people. Small and big animas, rich and poor, beautiful and ugly but they all seemed to get along with each other. It was what we would call an Utopia.

When they left the plaza and moved on to the next street, you could clearly see that they were in a more expensive part of the city. The streets were bigger and cleaner and most of the boats had drivers that transported the people wherever they wanted to. The houses were taller, wider and the architecture more fascinating the farther they walked into the center of the city and there was also more space. They walked for two hours but still didn't reach their destination. That's when little Cream stumbled and fell. Vanilla was immediately by her side and everybody turned to see what happened.

"Ms. Violett, I can't walk anymore", Cream said when she stood back up.

"Want me to carry you?" Sonic offered, but Violett pulled him back.

"This whole area is too big. The mountains, the river, the city … We've been walking for a half a day and are still not where we should be. Next to that, I can see that Cream is not the only one who is tired."

Vanilla and Charmy nodded and everybody else looked at the floor in shame of not realizing how tired their companions must be.

"We could ask the boat drivers if they could drive us", Tails suggested.

"I don't know … things here seem to be a little like on earth … I don't think anybody will drive us if we ask them. Not if we don't have anything to give." Amy thought out loud.

"It's worth a try", Knuckles said.

"I'll go and ask", Vector cried and ran to one of the more modern boats docking on the sidewalk.

While one half of the crew looked after Cream, the other half followed the crocodile with their eyes while he talked with the sailor (if you could call him that), a small but experienced looking penguin. Two minutes later, Vector returned.

"He aint taking us unless we tell him where to an' why!" he informed the others.

Violett sighed at that and made his way to the sailor, gesturing everybody to follow her. That way, the sailor had to face the whole crew.

"Our destination is the castle in the center of the city. The reason is none of your concern. Yet, I bid you to take us. We travel with children and they are tired and worn out. Please have mercy with them." Violett said and bowed politely.

The sailor seemed shocked.

"The castle? No way, lady! No can do! And if I may give you this piece of advice; don't go there unless you want to be imprisoned or killed! Th King is in a bad mood today."

"Killed? That doesn't sound like King Korio …"

"King Korio? Where have you been living? King Korio died three years ago."

For a few seconds, Violett was completely overwhelmed. Her expression was completely motionless, as if she was unable to swallow the news. Then her lips parted and she talked, yet so quietly that nobody could understand what she said.

"Uncle Korio … dead …"

"Excuse me?" the sailor said.

Violett shook her head and snapped out of her momentary trance. "If Korio is dead, than who has the throne? The princess or …?"

"THE PRINCESS? Oh heavens no! She's famous and loved for protecting the kingdom with her powers, but I wouldn't want her to be Queen, not with that temper. His son has taken over."

"That explains everything."

For a moment, there was silence.

"If I assure you that you will stay completely safe, will you bring us to the castle?"

"No! There's no way I'll take that chance!"

Everybody was quiet at that, exchanging looks with each other, trying to figure out what to do. Sure, they could keep on walking, but who knows how far it is to the center of the city. Cream, Charmy or Vanilla might just collapse on the way. It was Rouge who came up with the answer. She pushed herself past Violett to the penguin, took his fin and pushed her whole body against the bird, putting on her most charming smile.

"Pretty please, sir, won't you take us?"

Her fingers walked up his chest all the way to his chin, where they stopped. Instead, her arm made its way around her neck. The penguins head went as red as a tomato as she batted her eyelashes and used his body to push her boobs closer to her face. When she was sure he was distracted, she made a tiny gesture, telling her companions to enter the ship.

"I'm sure a handsome, young man such as you can handle a little king. As for the price … I believe we can think of something."

Her head kept coming closer to his as she talked and when she finished, she licked his cheek. The penguins head went even redder if possible.

"P-p-p-p-price … T-the p-p-price …" he stuttered.

"Exactly, the price. What about it, sir? Anything I can give you? Your only condition is to bring us to that castle."

"To the castle …"

"Exactly! To the castle!"

Everybody was on board and Tails was already at the controls. Only Sonic refused to enter the boat. Giving a sign that he'll run.

"Now tell me, Mr. is there anything I can do for you? Anything at all?"

While Rouge kept the penguin distracted, Tails tried to figure out how to start the boat and as expected of a child genius, soon enough managed to do so. The penguin snapped back to reality for a moment and his head turned to his ship. But Rouge turned his head back to her and kissed him as good as one could kiss a beak.

"WHAT DOES THAT GUY THINK HE'S DOING?" Knuckles yelled, more pissed than he had been for a long time.

He was about to jump off the boat and knock the wind out of the penguin, but Amy grabbed one of his dreadlocks and held him back.

"Oh no you don't!" she said.

That's when Tails managed to maneuver the boat into the channel and off the sidewalk. Amy made a gesture for Rouge to come to them. With one swift move, she pushed the penguin aside, spread her wings and flew over to the boat while Sonic started running. The penguin was left cursing at the sidewalk.

"Awesome, Rouge", Amy praised the bat.

"Yeah, you just proved that you're not just batty, but a slut as well." Knuckles growled.

Rouge slapped him for that. Tails kept speeding up the boat until it was going approximately 20 Miles per hour while Sonic ran on the sidewalk next to it. At the speed they were going it took about another hour until they finally reached the castle, the sun was already starting to set. However, the only thing they could make out was that it was big and surrounded by water. The only way to get there would be to go through the gates that surrounded the ring of water around the castle, but the gates were closed and guarded.

Tails slowed down the boat and Sonic stopped running.

"Sonic, come on. Jump on the ship or you'll get left behind." Amy yelled.

"It just had to be this way", Sonic moaned, but hopped on nonetheless.

Violett navigated Tails all the way to the blue mouse that guarded the gate they wanted to go through.

"May I help you?" the mouse asked.

"We wish to see the king." Violett answered.

The mouse raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure? The King is in a very bad mood today. One wrong step and you might regret it."

"We are sure. You have no need to worry." Violett smiled sweetly and a small blush crept across the mouse's cheeks.

"V-very well then, I shall let you in."

The mouse opened the gates and when the boat was on the other side, he whispered something into his shirt. But the crew was busy being astounded at the sight of the castle in front of them.

**Me: Ho boy! A lot of description and hardy any action. To be honest, it wasn't that much fun to write as well. There's a lot of description to come in the next few chapters but don't worry, there'll be more action and talking as well. Hope I didn't bore you away.**

**Sonic: You love torturing me, don't you?**

**Me: Who? Me? I could never torture you, you're the hero!**

**Sonic: Quit that stupid sarcasm. When am I gonna shine like I always do?"**

**Me: Soon enough. Don't worry.**

**Blaze: Have you decided whether I appear or not?"**

**Me: I have to make a confession; I've decided that from the very beginning. For Shadow and Silver as well.**

**Shadow, Silver and Blaze: WHAT?**

**Me: I had that decided before I even started the story.**

**Shadow: So AM I going to appear or not?**

**Blaze: And what about me?**

**Silver: Or me?**

**Me: Not telling. You'll just have to wait and see. And if you don't mind, I wanna go now. I'm tired, it's late back here. See ya. Oh, and please don't forget to review. Thanks ^^**


	14. The king and the mage

**Me: Alrighty, folks! We have something very special in this chapter; The intro of another canon character. I already told about that in chapter 9. HURRAY; HURRAY!**

**Amy: Who is it? Is it somebody I know?**

**Me: Not telling!**

**Rouge: Is it somebody for me to flirt with?**

**Me: Not telling!**

**Shadow: Is it me?**

**Me: Not telling**

**Blaze: Is it me?**

**Me: Not telling!**

**Sliver: And what about me?**

The king and the mage

Me: Still not telling! Just go on with the story and you'll see ^^

The castle was perfectly round, just like the circle of water around it. Four bigger towers merged out of the building on the northern, eastern, southern and western side of it. One smaller tower each emerged from between two of the bigger towers and from the middle of the building was the tall tower they already saw from the mountain. The whole building was decorated with the most wonderful towers and patterns on the walls.

When the boat docked on, there was already an orange mouse waiting for them.

"Follow me please", the mouse said and turned around, walking into the castle.

Violett was the first to jump out of their boat and followed the mouse, the others stayed a bit in the background. The mouse led them through a narrow that was overly decorated with all kinds of armors and had a lot of doors. The mouse stopped at one of those doors to the right and entered it. They walked into a living-room-sized room with a lot of red couches and chairs, a few armors and a lot of expensive looking pictures. The walls were white and the floor wooden.

But the mouse walked straight to the other side of the room and stopped next to the door.

"Please, be careful of what you do. The King is dangerous when in such a mood. The only reason he allows you to see him is because it's his duty, but there is no telling of how he'll react to your visit."

"I thank you for your warning, but I assure you, there is no need to be concerned." Violett smiled. Then she turned to Sonic and his friends. "As for all of you, I have a favor to ask of you; No matter what happens in there, do NOT interfere. Hold yourselves back."

Then she opened the door and walked in, Sonic and the others right on her heels.

The room was shaped like a half ball and was rather large, yet, the only pieces of furniture in it were four doors, a golden throne and a few chandeliers, the biggest one hanging right above the throne. The walls were dark blue, but there were many different kinds of jewels stuck in it; diamonds, sapphires, rubies, emeralds and a whole lot more (Rouge's eyes went wide at the sight). The light from the chandeliers were reflected by the golden throne and the jewels in the walls and filled the room with many different colors of light.

There were only five people in the room; four mice who guarded the doors and a blue male cat who sat on the throne. He seemed to be in his late teens and looked like he was about to throw them all out if it weren't for some kind of heavenly chain that kept him from it. To make it short; he looked pissed at being disturbed. He was wearing red boots, a red cape, kept together by small golden plates at his neck, a red, with all kinds of patterns decorated shirt and a golden crown, fitting to the golden color of his eyes.

"Your majesty", Violett bowed.

"Who are you and what do you want?" The young king bellowed into the room.

Violett stood back up and looked directly into the cat's eyes. Her smile was gone and she looked more frightening than the King did. Even he looked scared for a split second before he regained his posture. For a few seconds, he and Violett held a staring contest until the King's patience came to an end.

_Flashback_

"_Why don't you talk?"_

_The young cat was standing in the woods, looking directly into the eyes of the young mage. She didn't smile. She never did. But why won't she talk? He was used to not getting what he wanted, his father had made sure of that, so had learned to get it himself. And right now, he wanted the hedgehog in front of him to talk._

"_Answer me!" The Prince bellowed._

_But Violett just stood there, looking directly into his eyes with that creepy look of hers._

_End Flashback_

"Answer me!" The King bellowed.

But Violett just stood there, looking directly into his eyes with that creepy look of hers. Tails looked at his friend and wondered what might be wrong with her while Cream was close to tears, wondering where the lovely lady went. But nobody said a word, just like Violett had ordered.

_Flashback_

"_I'm not in a good mood today, so you either obey me and answer or I'll attack!"_

_While he said that, he pulled his sword out of its scabbard and pointed it directly at Violett. But still, the girl just looked at him with an unchanged expression and it irritated the Prince to no end. Not that anybody would have been scared at that site; the prince was just too young to be taken seriously. When he had waited for almost a minute and the hedgehog in front of him still didn't show any signs of talking, the prince gritted his teeth._

"_As you prince I obey you to answer!"_

_Violett's narrowed a bit as if wanting to say 'you are not my prince'. That was too much for the prince to take and he attacked._

_End Flashback_

"I'm not in a good mood today, so you either obey me and answer or I'll attack.

While he said that, the king stood up from his throne and pulled his sword out of its scabbard. The four mice did the same, but the king gestured them to put away their swords and they obeyed. When almost a minute had passed and Violett still didn't show any signs of talking, the king gritted his teeth.

"As your king I obey you to answer!"

Violett's eyes narrowed as if wanting to say 'you are not my king'. That was too much for the king to handle and he attacked. Sonic wanted to step in and protect his friend, but Tails held him back.

_Flashback_

_The young cat ran towards the young hedgehog, who still hadn't stirred a muscle. Even when he jumped and raised his sword, Violett didn't move. There was no reason to worry, the cat had seen Violett fight. She was good enough to defend herself, but there was no way she could beat him. He would defeat her and get his answers. Only when the prince came down and his blade was close to parting the hedgehogs head did Violett finally move. With the back of her hand she pushed the blade to one side while her other hand grabbed her attacker's neck and used the speed of his fall to pull him to the other side. The prince fell on his stomach and the sword fell way out of his reach._

_The little Prince moaned and looked up at the hedgehog in front of him. She still didn't say a word. She still didn't smile. But she held out a hand for him, which caused him to smile. He accepted it and stood up. The female just turned around and continued her way, leaving the prince back in awe._

_End flashback_

The cat ran towards the hedgehog, who still hadn't stirred a muscle. Even when he jumped and raised his sword, Violett still didn't move. Was there reason to worry? The king didn't know, he had never seen the hedgehog fight before, but he didn't intend to hurt her anyways. He just wanted to show her his superiority and get her to obey. Only when he came down and his blade was close to parting the hedgehogs head did Violett finally move. With the back of her hand, she pushed the blade to one side while her other hand grabbed her attackers neck and used the speed of his fall to pull him to the other side. The king fell on his stomach and the sword fell way out of his reach.

The guards moved instantly, but the defeated cat raised his hand to show them he was okay. After a bit of hesitation, the guards put their swords back into their scabbards and went back to guard the doors. The young king looked up at the hedgehog in front of him. She still didn't say a word. She still didn't smile. But she held out a hand for he which caused him to smile.

"I guess this is what they call déjà vu, huh?" the king asked.

Finally, Violett smiled again. The blue cat accepted her hand, but the moment he was standing, used it to pull the surprised female into a very, very, very tight hug.

"Ahhh … Violett, it's been so long since I last got to hug you. You're so nice and soft now."

Purring like a real house cat, the king rubbed his head into the hedgehog's middle sized breasts, making everybody but Cream and Charmy (they're too young to get it) blush. Violett herself was too busy freeing herself from the cat's deadly grasp to notice what he did.

"Claws …" she choked, "let go … I can't … breathe …"

"No way! I haven't seen you for years, I have to take in your scent again and I have to enjoy holding you in my arms!"

The whole Sonic team sweatdropped.

"Coming to think of it … Guards", the king turned to the guards at the doors. "Go get my sister. She'll love this surprise."

"But sir," one of the mice said, "your sister is …"

"If she wants to hurt you tell her that I told you to take it out on me. NOW GO GET HER!"

All the mice jumped in fright and hurried out of the room. But Claws already got distracted by something else.

"Uhm … Mr. King sir", Cream walked up to the cat. "Ms. Violett told us not to interfere, so I would like to ask you for permission to speak up."

The King blinked, but then grinned. "Sure thing, kid. What do you need?"

"Well … Ms. Violett is dying …"

"Huh?"

Claws was completely overrun by that. Violett? Dying? Why would she die? What happened to her? Not until Cream shyly pointed at the hedgehog in Claws arms did he realize that something wasn't quite right; Violett had stopped struggling. When he looked down at her he saw that she had passed out and had twirls instead of eyes, her head had taken on a darker shade of purple

"YIKES!" he cried out and quickly put Violett down on the ground.

The very moment he released her, she gasped for air and came back to herself. Breathing heavily, she heaved herself into a sitting position. When she opened her eyes, she saw the huge, teary eyes of the cat king right in front of her and sweatdropped.

"VIOLETT, I'M SO GLAD YOU'RE OKAY!" he cried and hugged her again, making everybody else in the room sweatdrop.

In a split second, Vector was behind the cat and grabbed his cape to heave him away from Violett.

"Dude, go on like that and the gurl's sure to suffocate." He said.

Claws laughed sheepishly, but promised to keep his hands of her for now. Vector put him back down on the ground and Violett sighed in relief.

"Your killer hugs are one thing I didn't miss." She said.

"The two of you behave awfully friendly with each other." Tails helped Violett up.

"Of course we do!" Claws grinned. "Violett and I have been a couple for years now. We're madly in love, isn't that right Violett?"

Named hedgehog gave the king a death glare. "Don't push it. You've already crossed the line." She snarled.

"Hehe … sorry," Claws smiled and scratched the back of his head.

"Is he the fiampfff …"

Tails was unable to finish his sentence. Amy had covered his mouth from behind and was now busy calming him down (the poor guy almost had a heart attack). Amy laughed nervously at everybody before she turned to Tails.

"You don't ask a question like that in public. If you really wanna know, I'll ask her later", she hissed into his ear. Then she let him go.

"Sorry", Tails whispered back.

"Rouge, stay away from the jewels", Knuckles suddenly said.

Everybody looked at the bat girl who stopped in her tracks. She had snuck away from the group to the walls and was just about to take one of the jewels. She shot Knuckles a death glare. Then, she crossed her arms.

"What, I'm not even allowed to look at them?" she pouted.

"No you're not."

"Why not?"

"Cause you steal every single jewel you look at!"

"That is SO not true!"

"Oh please, everybody here except for the kiddo king knows how true that is!"

"Hey, who're you calling 'kiddo king'?" Claws bust in to their 'conversation', but the bat and the echidna ignored him and went on bickering.

That went on for a whole wile. The Sonic Team knew better than to interfere and started doing other things to distract themselves. The cat bent down to Violett, telling her that she had weird friends and Violett just sighed and nodded her head. What stopped the argument (and the boredom) in the end was the appearance of a new voice.

"What's going on here?" it asked into the room.

The voice was strong, confident, full of authority and definitely belonged to a female. Knuckles and Rouge went quiet immediately and looked at the person the voice belonged to, as did the rest of the gang. A purple cat with yellow eyes was standing next to the throne. She was wearing a jacket in Violett's fur color, which is a darker shade of purple than the cat's, a golden necklace, a pair of white trouser and pink, heeled shoes with white straps much like Sonic's. But the most peculiar thing about the cat was a small, red ruby that was stuck in her forehead. A wide smile appeared around Violett's face when she spotted the cat, while the cat's eyes went wide.

"Sonic?" The cat exclaimed.

"Sonic?" Violett asked confused and looked the blue hedgehog in the crowd's midst.

Named blur seemed just as confused as Violett to hear his name from the cat's mouth.

"Blaze", Claws cut in, "we have visitors."

"I can see", Blaze answered and then chuckled. "I guess I shouldn't be so surprised to see you here. You're always out on some adventure, aren't you, Sonic? And you brought Cream, Cheese and Tails as well."

Sonic frowned. "That's true, but … how do you know us?"

"Yes, Blaze. How do you know them?"

That was when the hotheaded cat's attention drifted from Sonic to Violett. Her eyes narrowed for a bit, but then they went even wider as they had when she had first spotted Sonic.

"No way", she muttered. "Violett? Is that you?"

**Me: And another chapter is finished! And since it's the debut of a canon and an OC (which belongs to Speedlion by the way; thanks a bunch for letting him use me, pal), we'll have these two as guests today. A big applause for the royal silblings; King Claws and princess Blaze!**

**Claws: Thank you, thank you, far too kind.**

**Blaze: I am honored to be here.**

**Me: So, how are you connected to each other?**

***Claws and Blaze sweatdrop***

**Blaze: We … are siblings …**

**Me: Oh … yeah … right … I forgot …**

**Claws: You just introduced us as silblings …**

**Me: I did?**

**Blaze and Claws: Yes, you did.**

**Me: Oh, I didn't notice. So, what kind of questions do you have?**

**Blaze: How come Violett knows me, but Sonic doesn't?**

**Me: The answer to that is in the next chapter, you'll have to wait until it's up**

***Claws opens his mouth to say something***

**Me: Ups, time's up. See ya soon! And don't forget to review, thankies.**

**Claws: HEY! I WANTED TO SAY SOMETHING, TOO!**


	15. Dimensions and Zones

**Me: Okay, this is a bit of a complicated chapter, but it has to be done, because it plays a bigger role in later chapters. I just hope I've explained things good enough, so that everybody understands them.**

**Rouge: Sheelaflower does not own Sonic the hedgehog nor any of it's character and she doesn't own Claws either.**

**Me: Hey, who allowed you to do the disclaimer?**

Dimensions and Zones

„Okay, let me get this straight", Sonic said, „Our witch …"

"Mage", Violett interrupted.

"Whatever! Our mage knows the two cats, the two cats know our witch …"

"Mage!"

"Whatever! The cat girls knows me, Tails and Cream but none of us knows the cat girl while the cat boy is the cat girl's brother but knows none of us except for Violett. What I don't get is; how come?"

Pretty much everybody in this room was unable to follow after the first quarter of the often interrupted sentence. Even Rouge was distracted enough to keep from trying to steal the jewels in the throne hall.

"I say we'll sit down in the garden and talk this whole thing through!" Claws commanded. "That'll clear things up."

Blaze and Violett glared at him. "Whoever made you the leader?" They said in unison.

"Uh … in case you've forgotten … I'm a king!" The blue cat sweatdropped.

"You used to be prince and we still didn't listen to you", Blaze and Violett chanted again.

"Isn't it creepy how they are perfectly in synch?" Amy whispered to Tails, who nodded in response.

"He's right!"

Violett turned her head to look at the blue blur when he put his hand on her shoulder and met his eye. It was obvious that neither he, nor any of the other Sonic Team members really understood what was going on. Heck, not even she knew. Yet, his eyes were full of confidence and his smile was genuine. Not a single trace of confusion or irritation could be found. But was that really Sonic?

"I hate to admit it, but I'm really lost right now and I'm sure that I'm not the only one. So why don't we just sit down, relax and talk things over?"

He was playing peacemaker. That was quite the surprise to Violett. She had always viewed Sonic as a person that is looking for a fight and action. Being the peacemaker didn't quite fit into this attire.

Blaze looked at Sonic a bit sadly for a second, but then decided to give in.

"Guards!" She bellowed to the mice at the doors. "Go inform the servants to prepare the table in the castle gardens. I want enough seats and tea for 13 people!"

"Yes ma'am!" The guards immediately answered and ran out their doors.

"You know …" Claws sighed, "ordering the servants around is my job …"

"It's not. _Your _job is to make your people happy. Ordering the servants around is the job of a princess."

And with that, Blaze turned gracefully on her heels and left for the door she came from. Claws sighed, Violett giggled and Cream was awestruck, but all three followed her immediately. Sonic and the others hesitated, but followed nonetheless. They walked into another one of the corridors they were in when they first entered the castle, only this time, they didn't turn and enter at one of the doors, but walked all the way to the end of it, where Blaze stopped to open a beautifully carved glass door.

On the doors other side was a huge garden. All kinds of trees and plants could be found in it and all kinds of different gardening styles as well. In its middle was the bottom of the huge tower the troop had seen from the mountain and as they walked, Sonic noticed that the garden was built up in a circle between the tower and the castle. Many tiny channels were to be found and a few bigger brooks with bridges every here and there to cross them. Different kinds of anima, like birds (the female ones giggling when Sonic and the crew passed by), could be found all over the place, but also normal animals like those one would see here on earth and others that none of us could ever imagine.

Soon, they came to a rather large tiled place in the garden where mice in all colors were preparing a huge, expensive looking garden table. Blaze sat down and so did Claws, Violett and Sonic, while the others hesitated, waiting or a sign from Claws or Blaze to sit down. Blaze gave that sign right after she sat down and so, the others made themselves comfortable as well.

"Sonic", Blaze turned to the named hedgehog "we have chilidogs here. Would you like some?"

"You bet!" Sonic cried ecstatic, only to be scolded for bad behavior by Cream and Cheese

Blaze watched the three, Tails and Violett with a smile gentle smile on her face. Sonic, Tails, Cream and Cheese didn't notice, but Violett did not miss Blaze's behavior for even a split second. It wasn't until Blaze softly giggled that everyone stopped talking.

"You three are just like I remember you", she said to Sonic, Cream and Cheese. Then, she turned to Tails. "You on the other hand, seem a little different. I remember you being more cheerful and not quite that mature." Last but not least, she turned to Violett. "As for you, you are the direct opposite of Tails. I remember you not being cheerful like that at all. In fact, you never used to smile."

"You have changed as well." Violett responded. "You used to be such a shy and selfish little kid; a real crybaby with a very short temper. Now look at you! You've become true princess!"

"Yeah well, back to the matter at hand" Sonic interrupted the conversation. "How come you know us without us knowing you?"

"I wonder about that myself. Eggman once took our Sol Emeralds and I came to Mobius to get them back. You, Tails, Cream and Cheese have helped with that. A few months later, you and Tails crash-landed on Ocean Planet while I was there to stop Captain Whiskers. Together with Marine, a friend you made, we stopped Eggman and Eggman Nega from destroying Ocean Planet."

Everyone was quiet for a while, taking in what Blaze had just said. It was Violett who broke the silence.

"Maybe it was a Sonic from a different Zone …" she thought out loud.

"That would make sense", Sonic added, making Violett look at him dumbfounded.

"It would?"

"Yeah! Shadow from another Zone once visited us while we were on earth."

"Shadow?" Blaze asked confused.

"He was … I guess you could call him an anti-hero. Much like Cosmo, he sacrificed his life to save us from the Metarex." Amy answered.

"What I don't get is the Zone matter. What exactly is a 'Zone'?" Espio changed topics.

Nobody answered. Instead, Violett, Blaze and Claws looked at each other for a second, communicating without words.

"Do you think we can tell them?" Claws asked the two purple females.

"This is Sonic we're talking about. He'll get involved with this sooner or later anyways!" Blaze answered.

"But remember what Pythia taught us; It's not wise to give information before the ones you give information to are able to understand it" Claws argued.

"True, but from what Sonic just told us, they already have experience with Zones and dimensions. I believe it's safe to tell them." Violett added.

"And what about the safety of the balance? You know we can't just tell anyone how things work. Not even the Zone cops know all about it!" Claws argued again.

"I just told you, this is Sonic we're talking about. Even if we don't tell him, he'll figure it out on his own through experience and all his friends with him." Blaze countered.

"I think we should tell him." Violett stated.

"So do I!" Blaze agreed.

"Alright, alright! I see that I'm outnumbered. Go on and tell them, then!"

Again, Blaze and Violett exchanged glances, that way telling each other what should be said and how. They silently agreed that the magician would do the start.

"Do you know what a dimension is?" She asked into the round.

"Some kind of parallel universe, right?" Tails answered. "A universe coexisting next our own in which different version of us live."

"Yes and no", Blaze said. "A dimension is indeed a universe. As you have probably noticed by now, there is more than just one dimension. To be precise, there are thirteen of them, coexisting with each other. Each one harbors an entire universe and is therefore endless."

"However, one dimension has nothing in common with another dimension, except for the laws of nature, meaning that, even though Blaze lives in a different dimension than all of you, there is no second Sonic anywhere in this universe. " Violett added. "I will now perform some Illusion magic to show you what we mean."

She stretched out her hand, palm facing upwards. Suddenly, a green rectangle appeared and hovered right above the magician's hand.

"This is your dimension" she said.

Then, another twelve of these rectangles appeared in all different colors. They were separated at first, but then floated above and beyond the green plate. When they stopped, they were all ordered in a neat pile.

"And these are the other twelve dimensions that coexist next to yours. I live in one of these dimensions, as do Blaze and Claws. And what we are doing right now is travelling from one of them to the other. As far as I know, earth is in one of these dimensions as well. Any questions to that?"

Silence.

"Then we'll move on to the next topic." Blaze grabbed the word again. "Who knows what a Zone is?"

It was Sonic's time to answer.

"From what Shadow told me, it's a world coexisting with ours. Apparently, there are all kinds of different Zones in which all kinds of different version of us live."

"Exactly!" Violett said. "A Zone is a completely other world. Our Zone, for example, consists out of all thirteen dimensions and all thirteen dimensions together create this Zone."

"There are all kinds of Zones out there. Some in which Sonic exists, but not Tails, others in which Tails exists, but not Sonic, some in which all of us exists, others in which none of us exist, some in which there is magic, others in which there is none, some in which our laws of nature rule, others in which there are no laws of nature, some with billions of different dimensions, others with only a single planet. The amount of different Zones and Zone variations are endless." Blaze explained.

"Next to that, each dimension has a counter dimension, which is the exact opposite of its counterpart. That Shadow you have mentioned earlier must have come from one of these Zones and the Sonic that has visited Blaze as well" Violett added.

"What's with the Zone cops you mentioned earlier?" Rouge asked.

"Zone cops come from a very special Zone." Claws finally joined the explanation. "They are a special version of every single existing being that reside in that world. They look after the balance of every Zone that habitats a version of them. The Sonic version of a Zone cop should therefore be watching over this Zone. However, only very few of them have the knowledge you have now. Most of them believe that there is a limited number of Zones and that only Zones exist that have a version of themselves. Many of them also think that there is some kind of prime Zone, a Zone of which every other Zone comes from."

"But that's nonsense." Blaze spoke again." They are only told that to ensure the safety of the balance. Being a Zone cop is a hard job. You have to see all of your friends and family suffer or die or you have to strike against them because they're bad. Should the Zone cops know that there are Zones in which none of their friends and families exists, they would want to watch over them instead."

It was Violett's turn to speak again. "And if they should make a mistake and reveal their identity to the wrong person, they will know of all of the Zones and could cause a major disruption to the balance and maybe even destroy it. If the Zone cops work only in their Zones, the damage will automatically be kept as low as possible should one of them make the wrong move."

"Only very few beings in all the Zones know of the real number and have the knowledge we have given to you right now." Claws finished.

"And you belong to these 'very few beings'?" Espio asked suspiciously.

"No, we aren't" Violett answered. "But my mentor and Blaze's and Claw's ex-mentor, Pythia, is and she entrusted us with that knowledge just as we entrusted you with it. Any other questions?"

Again there was silence until Claws interrupted it.

"Then perhaps we should introduce ourselves. We have been so busy with explaining that we've totally forgotten about that. I'm Claws the cat, king to the Quinterra kingdom."

"You may call me Blaze the cat, princess to the Quinterra kingdom."

"Violett Ocean the hedgehog, magician."

"There is really no use for you to introduce yourself. We all know you" Blaze said, raising an eyebrow. Violett just smiled at that.

"Call me Vector, leader of the chaotix detective agency!"

"Espio, ninja!"

"I'm Charmy! I'm the cute one in the agency and I make sure to keep everyone in a good mood!"

"I am Rouge. I'm a trained spy and the glamour for this team."

"I am known as Cream and this here is my friend Cheese"

"Chao" the chao exclaimed.

"You know", Blaze said "when I went to the other Sonic's world, the three of us were good friends."

"I would like to become friends with Ms. Blaze as well" Cream smiled sweetly.

"I am Cream's Mother, Vanilla."

"I'm Amy and Sonic's girlfriend and future wife!"

"How often am I gonna have to tell you that you're neither one nor the other?" Sonic sighed.

"Don't be like that! I know that you love me."

"Yeah … right …"

"My name's Knuckles. I'm the guardian of the Master Emerald and the last living Echidna."

"I'm Tails."

"I'm Sonic! Sonic the hedgehog!"

"So what exactly are you all doing here?" Blaze asked.

And with that, the explanations and introductions ended and the story telling began. One after another told the two cats how Violett suddenly appeared to Tails' rescue, how they all found out about Violett being a mage, how Violett somehow put the Master Emerald back together, how Sonic and Violett visited Sally (Claws and Blaze exchanged worried glances at that), how they all set off into space, how they suddenly got attacked and how they all ended up here. It was long nighttime by the time they were finished. Claws ordered the mice to prepare rooms for his guests and so, they all parted for the night.

**Me: To get rid of a bit of confusion that might've occurred right now, let me explain a few things. In this chapter we have three different Zones that play a bigger role; the Sonic X Zone; the Sonic of the Archiverse Zone and the Zone of the original Sonic, the one of the games. The Sonic of the games traveled through the Zones and met this Blaze (see 'Sonic Rush/Sonic Rush adventure). The Shadow of the Archieverse also traveled through the Zones and met this Sonic (See Sonic X comics), but he never met this Blaze. He went to some other Zone in which the dimensions are very similar, the same Zone to which the Archie Sonic went to (see Sonic Comic). Hope this clears things up a bit.**

**Knuckles: I still don't get it.**

**Me: How could you? You're a dimwitted idiot. Please review, okay? I take whatever criticism you throw at me, just please don't flame**


	16. Of cats and hedgehogs

**Me: Now, let's go a bit slower in this chapter. Sonic and co. need a break every now and then as well after all.**

**Sonic: A break? Who needs a break? I could keep going until the world stands still**

**Amy: That's my Sonic!**

**Me: Oh yeah, this chapter will be a bit about you and Sonic. Actually, from this point on the story will be A LOT about you and Sonic.**

**Amy: YAY!**

**Sonic: Gimme a break.**

**Me: Wasn't it you who said the he'd never need a break?**

**Sonic: Just get the hell on with the story already. Sheelaflower does not own Sonic the hedgehog nor any of its characters and Claws belongs to Speed.**

Of hedgehogs and cats

Morning has risen and the first one to be out of bed was Sonic. While most of the others were still asleep, Sonic was already running through the castle, exploring every corner of it. He only stopped when he almost ran into the cat-princess, who looked like she had just left her bed.

"Heya! What's up, Blaze?"

Blaze just stared at him and yawned.

"Not the morning person, huh?"

"I'm a cat! It's in my blood."

"Then why don't you go back to sleep?"

"I would still sleep if your constant Sonic booms wouldn't have woken me up."

Sonic laughed at that, but grabbed her arm and pulled her down to the dining hall, telling her that she'll feel better after breakfast. Blaze was still too tired to argue and just let him pull her around. After a few minutes of jogging, he stopped in his tracks and turned on his heels to face Blaze.

"Uhm … which way to the dining hall?" he asked sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head.

="="="

"Man, shish shuff ish good", Sonic said, his mouth full with a fruit he's never seen before that Blaze called 'cramibia'

Blaze just smiled while Sonic stuffed all kinds of delicacies into his mouth, from things he knew from Mobius and earth, to things he's never seen before, hardly eating anything herself. Her smile only faltered when Sonic suddenly stopped eating.

"Oh yeah", he choked out and swallowed. "I almost forgot; I wanted to ask you how you and Vi know each other."

Blaze already knew from the previous evening that the Sonic Team called the mage 'Vi' and thus, wasn't surprised. "Violett and I?" she asked.

"Yeah. And the weird cat you call your brother, too."

"Hmm … that's a long story", Blaze sighed.

"I have time!"

"But do you have the patience as well?"

"If the story's interesting enough, sure."

"Alright then, I'll tell you. When I was kid, I had no control f my power." She started.

"Power? What power?"

"That's right, I forgot you didn't know. I have the power of pyrokinetic."

"Pyrowhat?"

"Pyrokinetic It's the ability to control flames. See?"

Blaze held out her finger and a small flame came from it. Sonic's eyes went huge at the sight, but his grin got even larger.

"Waaayyy cool", he breathed.

Sonic took in how Blaze's yellow eyes became misty while she looked up at the ceiling. The red jewel on her forehead was shining in the light of the chandeliers and her bright-purple fur seemed even brighter. The small smile that had decorated her lips while watching Sonic was gone and even though every single face in her muscle was relaxed, she still seemed somehow sad.

"As said, I had no control of that power when I was a kid. So, without wanting to, I caused many accidents and hurt many, many people. It's not a big surprise that they hated and feared me for it. But one day, my father, King Kurio, brought me and my brother to another dimension; to Violett's dimension, to her planet even. It is well known that Violett's trainers are the best of the best, but her mentor was simply outstanding.

"You see, Violett's trainer is Pythia, a being that is probably even older than your planet. But what makes her special is that she has two souls residing in her; her own and that of the Master Oracle, better known as the Oracle of Delphi. It is said that the Oracle of Delphi is the very first Oracle that has ever existed and that it is as old as time itself. The reason Pythia mainly lives with Violett's family is because it told her to and so, she became the mentor to every mage in Violett's family.

"It was her that was supposed to train me and help me get my powers under control and she took that task without hesitation. Back then Violett was … different … from the way she is now. How do I say it? She was like … It was as if there was no life in her."

"Huh?" Sonic could not start anything with that statement.

"She was like a mummy without soul or without heart. The only thing that was there was that empty shell that we call the body. When I first arrived there, Violett didn't laugh, she didn't smile and she didn't talk. At the very beginning, she didn't even seem to recognize her surroundings and she only moved when she was ordered to do something.

"But when she spotted me, some life seemed to come back to her. Only a tiny little bit, but it was enough for me to see that she was a little bit like me. You see, Violett also wields great power, but she had problems controlling it. No, that's not right; she was completely unable to control it and probably still has problems with it to that very day. I think that's the reason she caught interest in me; because she saw similar pain in me than what she had gone through.

"The difference between her and me, though, was that I didn't have the key to my gate."

"Again; Huh?"

"Every creature with magical powers has a gate that keeps it closed. So naturally, where there's gate, there's also a key to lock it. For Violett, it's her ring. But I didn't have such a key. My gate was wide open from the very moment I was born and that's why my powers kept getting out of control. At least that's what Pythia told me. So she and Violett took a ruby and connected it with my brain and with the gate that enclosed my powers."

"The ruby on your forehead? Is that your key?"

"Exactly. From that very moment on, my powers never got out of hand again, but I still stayed there a whole year together with my brother to learn how to summon and use my flames. During that time, Violett and I became the best of friends. She healed the wounds in my heart and I helped her open up."

"Friends for years, huh?" Sonic mused. "That's nice."

=!=!=!=!

Breakfast was long over when Violett finally woke up. She had gotten used to long sleeping hours by now and it wouldn't have bothered her that she had slept in if it weren't for Blaze and Claws. The two knew her too well. If Sonic or any of the others told her that she was sleeping and eating a lot, all they had to was put one and one together and they would know immediately what she was doing. But that probably wasn't going to be avoidable, not if Blaze agreed to go with them.

But these thoughts soon came to an end when she stepped out to the hallway only to find Claws waiting for her. He wasn't trying to be weird for once and instead of his usual goofy and childish grin, he had a sincere, open and loving smile. It made him look grown up for a change.

"Claws …" she mumbled.

"Wanna go for a walk out in the castle gardens?" He asked.

Violett nodded and the cat took her hand, dragging her after him. It didn't take Claws long to lead them to their destination. It was the second time Violett had seen these gardens, but she already loved them, especially the many small streams. Violett had always loved the water (and anything else that was wet for that matter).

"Why are you here?" Claws suddenly asked.

That question was predictable. Claws might be a clown with bad mood swings (what do you expect? He's in puberty). He might overestimate himself easily and use raw force too often, but he wasn't stupid. He saw it immediately when something was off. Violett knew him good enough to know that he wasn't fooled, not even at the very moment he realized who she was.

"Pythia send me on a mission."

"A … mission …? Don't tell me you expect me to believe that. You should be way too busy, training to fulfill that prophecy of yours to be out on a mission."

Violett stopped in her tracks. Claws realized that immediately and turned around to face her. She seemed to have lost her cool for a few seconds, her hands were balled to a fist, her brows furrowed, every muscle in her body tense and her smile was gone. It was a frightening sight.

"That prophecy …" she gritted through her teeth. But then she took a deep breath and she was back to the normal, gentle Violett. "No" she said "this mission is a lot more important."

"What could be that important?"

"Lupa is on the loose", Violett said.

It was Claws time to stop in his tracks. Violett had expected this and stopped with him. The young king looked at Violett as though she was ghost and Violett stared back at him calmly, before she went on walking.

"It looks like she has recovered from her fiancées death and is collecting the dimensional items." The purple furred girl said.

"The dimensional … why?"

"Don't you remember the legend about the twelve dimensional items that Pythia told us?"

"Are you saying …?"

"That is exactly what I'm saying."

"And her wish?"

"I'm not sure yet. It could be that she wants to finish what Ira started, but I doubt that she is still interested in that."

"And if what I heard is true…"

"… which it is …"

"… then her only real interest should be … Ira?"

"Exactly. And it's been six years since he's been murdered, so the possibility of him being truly dead is too high to take chances."

"But doesn't Lupa know about the consequences this brings about?"

"I believe she does. She just simply doesn't care."

"And now you need Blaze's necklace, so that Lupa can't take it."

"Almost. I wanted to ask Blaze to come with us. After all, not even I can keep that necklace safer than Blaze. She'll automatically burn anyone who tries to touch it, whether she wants to or not and her fire is an ability we could really use. Besides, I could really use a friend on this trip"

"What about Sonic and the others? Aren't they your friends?"

"That would be too good to be true. They are allies … acquaintances maybe … but friends? No, they don't trust me enough for that and I don't think they ever will."

Claws looked at mage sadly. She has changed in so many ways, but one of her little flaws was still there; her lack of self-confidence. He knew it was there, even though she tried to hide it. Even back in the day, when he was staying with her was she unable to believe that anybody would ever want to be friends with her and from the looks of it, this hadn't changed.

"Wha …?"

Claws had found the perfect moment to tackle her with another one of his killer hugs and Violett was too surprised to react. When she did, her breath was almost all gone.

"Claws …" she choked. "Lemme go … or … I'll turn … you into … into a toad …"

)!)!)!)!

"What happened here?" Blaze cried out surprised when she entered her room.

Her room was large, fitting to a princess. The walls were a light shade of purple, her bed was king-sized and there were five large windows at the south with fitting windowsills. What surprised the young cat so much was that clothes were lying all around the room and more were flying through the door to her oversized closet. Blaze entered that door and saw a pink hedgehog in the middle of her clothes and a cream-colored Bunny with a Chao on her shoulder, looking at a dress.

"You know", Blaze surprised the three "I don't mind you looking through my clothes, but could you please ask the next time you want to enter my room?"

All three animas looked at the princess in shock. Blaze smiled a sly smile, showing them that they were busted, while Cheese hid behind Cream who hid behind Amy. Named hedgehog grinned apologetically and bowed her head.

"We're sorry. It's just … I thought you as a princess lived in luxury and that's why I wanted to check it out. Cream and Cheese tried to keep me from it, but I didn't listen to them and we saw your huge closet, we all got carried away."

"How did you know where my room is anyways?" Blaze asked skeptically.

"Well …" Amy said nervously, scratching her chin with a finger.

_Flashback_

"_I know you know where it is!" Amy whispered dreadfully, her hammer right in front of the blue hedgehogs face._

"_K-keep that Hammer away."_

"_Only if you tell me where Blaze's room is! Otherwise you'll get to feel it."_

"_Why the heck should I –ACK!"_

_With all her strength, Amy smacked Sonic across the head, who now had a huge bump on it. Sonic had twirls in his eyes, but he quickly came back to himself when Amy started speaking._

"_Well, Sonic? What are you gonna do?"_

_Sonic's eyes twitched and adrenaline pumped through his every vein as the threat of the pink hedgehog with her oversized hammer slowly approached him._

_End Flashback_

Blaze laughed out loud at that. Amy and Cream looked at her with completely baffled expressions and the cat pushed her body away from the doorframe. Gently and with a small smile on her face, she let her hand slither through her clothes.

"You're exactly like Sonic told me" she sighed.

"Sonic?" Amy's ears perked up.

"The other Sonic who helped me get the Sol Emeralds back. There has to be an Amy in his zone as well, because he talked a lot about you. And from what he told me, that Amy is pretty similar to you."

Amy opened and closed her mouth over and over again, but she didn't seem to know what to say. After a few seconds, she took Blaze's hand and pulled her out of the closet and to the king sized bed which she pushed the baffled cat down on. Cream was on their heels and sat down next to the fire cat.

"What did he tell you about me?" the pink furred cutie beamed, sitting down on Blaze's other side.

"Well, we got to the topic through little Cream here, who wouldn't stop telling me about all her wonderful friends and family. The center of her world is her mother and you. Is that the same with you as well?"

Cream looked at the cat with big eyes and nodded.

"She told me about how nice and strong and brave you were and how you were head over heels for Sonic."

Amy blushed furiously at that.

"So it's true?" Blaze asked.

"Of course it's true!" the hedgehog answered. "Sonic is my everything!"

"Sonic simply snorted when Cream said that. He said that you weren't head over heels, but a crazy and obsessed fan girl of him and that you just wouldn't leave him alone, no matter how often he told you. He told me that you were obsessed with marrying him and that you annoyed him to no end and that he wished that you just disappeared."

"Remind me to kill Sonic the moment I see him." Amy growled.

Blaze giggled. "Cream defended you with all her might against Sonic. For every bad trait Sonic stated, Cream would find a good one to counter with."

Amy had tears in her eyes and jumped of the bed to hug the little rabbit.

"Oh Cream, you're the best friend I ever had. If I should ever leave you behind again to go look for Sonic you're allowed to smack me!" she cried.

"But then I asked Sonic if you really were so bad", the princess went on. "And that's where things changed drastically."

Amy stopped squishing the little rabbit to death and looked at the cat in front of her with big eyes. None of them said a word for a while, until Blaze went on telling the three visitors her story.

"Sonic looked to the ground at first. I think he was guilty for having bashed you like that. Then a small smile played across his lips and he answered my question with a 'no'. That's when he started telling me good things about you, like how you were always there to get him out of stupid situations, how you were always by his side and how you would boost his confidence because you always believed in him. I remember him saying that you had that huge hammer that was too heavy even for him and that you could swing it like a master.

"He told me that you were always by his side and that you following him made sure that you were always there to help him when he was in trouble. He said he would like to protect you as much as you kept protecting him, but that was hardly ever necessary, since you could take care of yourself. But the most amazing thing about you was that you had that weird ability to convince everybody to do the right thing and to bring everybody to your and with that to his side."

Amy was unable to speak. All this time she had been following her hero, trying her best not to be a burden to him and help him as good as possible, but she had never thought that he had such a high opinion of her.

"The two Sonic's and the two versions of you are pretty similar, that's why I'm sure that your Sonic feels the same way."

Many tales could be told of Sonic, Amy, Violett, Blaze and Claws, but three tales of Cats and hedgehogs are enough for one day.

**Amy: Aww, Sonic I never knew you cared about me so much. I'm so happy.**

**Sonic: Do you see what you've done, Sheelaflower? Now she thinks I care about her!**

**Me: Don't be like that. I know you like her.**

**Sonic: In your dreams!**

**Amy: But she's right. You do like me! Why don't you just admit it Sonic?**

**Me: Yeah, why don't you just admit it?**

**Sonic: When the world ends.**

**Me: Which would be in about one and a half years.**

**Amy and Sonic: Huh?**

**Me: 2012**

**Sonic and Amy: Oh!**

**Me: Don't worry about it Amy. I WILL get Sonic to confess, don't worry. And the longer he fights against it, the more he will suffer. Now, please review, I would be so happy if you did. And also, I have a little surprise; I will write a story for the person who wrote the best critique (in my opinion). See ya next chapter!**


	17. A little fluff on the way

**Me: YAY, the next chappies out ^^**

**Sonic: SO what'll happen?**

**Me: Oh, not much. Just some fluff, that's all.**

**Amy: Between me and Sonic?**

**Me: Yup**

**Amy: YAY**

**Sonic: NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME?**

**Me: Because I'm evil. And because I own this story, though I don't own Sonic the hedgehog nor any of its character. Enjoy!**

**A little fluff on the way**

Sonic tried screaming but somehow, the hands that had grabbed him were simply too strong. He struggled and tried to free himself, but it was no use. He got pulled into the bushes of the castle gardens. After a few seconds of struggling, something suddenly soothed him and made him calm down. For some reason, he felt he wasn't in danger. But what was that something familiar?

The scent. The very moment Sonic asked himself that question, he realized that the scent around him was familiar; the soft soothing smell of roses. That scent belonged to Amy. As soon as he realized that, he stopped struggling for good and Amy released him.

"What are umpf!" Sonic tried to yell, but the pink hedgehog just shut his mouth again.

"Be quiet!" she hissed.

Sonic nodded, completely confused now. Amy let him go and gestured him to follow her. As silently as they could, the duo made their way through the bushes and halted when Amy parted one to create a hole in its middle.

"Look at this!" she whispered to Sonic.

Named hedgehog obeyed and took a peek through the bushes. He found another hedgehog, a purple one sitting close to a small channel with a cat; Violett and Claws. The pink and the blue hedgies were perfectly quiet, trying to make out what the two at the river were talking.

"… really are an idiot", they heard Violett say.

"Don't be like that. I know you love me." The grin in the young king's face was almost audible.

Even from where Amy and Sonic were standing could they feel the creepy vibes that came from Violett, who gave the young king a frightening death-glare. The two shuddered and were awed when Claws seemed unaffected by it, which he actually wasn't. He was panicking inside, wanting nothing more than to run away from this creature that looked as though it would kill him any moment.

But he relaxed immediately when Violett turned her head away from him and sighed a deep sigh. She seemed to be somewhere far away with her thoughts and it was almost painful to Claws that she still didn't trust him with her story. When it came to the dark moments in Violett's past, he and Blaze knew as much as Sonic and his friends and that's why he just couldn't figure out what was going on in the mage's mind.

And so, to get her back to reality, he poked a finger into Violett's side. The hedgehog flinched, but it worked. Claws had her full attention. He grinned a huge grin and poked his companion's side again and again. Oddly enough, she didn't defend herself, even if she clearly didn't like the young king teasing her. That game went on for a while until Claws had to crawl on all fours because the hedgehog would keep moving away from him. Claws laughing, Violett's shouting, their playful little fight went on until Claws lost balance and fell on top of Violett.

"Does that give you any ideas?" Amy whispered to Sonic as they observed the scene.

"Knock it, Ames", Sonic answered a tiny bit irritated.

They went on observing the scene, but went a little red on their cheeks and started feeling uncomfortable when neither Violett nor Claws moved. They just lay there, staring into each other's eyes, Violett's face perfectly calm, which made her look creepy and Claws as if he were the one who was far away this time. Nothing happened and yet, that moment seemed so intense that Sonic and Amy suddenly felt more than uncomfortable evading their privacy.

"Maybe we should go", Sonic said.

The female at his side nodded and they both disappeared out of hearing and seeing range of the two. What disturbed Sonic was that Violett probably knew that he had been close. Violett seemed to smell him miles away and still, she had allowed him to see that private moment. The only question was; why? And what about Amy? Sonic had no doubt that the mage knew that she was close as well.

It was exactly that little pink hedgehog that pulled him out of his thoughts.

"Blaze and I talked about you yesterday", she tried to pick up a conversation.

"What didja talk?" the blur asked.

"Well … she told about that Sonic she met. You know … that other Sonic. And about what he told her about me."

"So? That other Sonic may be a version of me, but he's not me, so why should it interest me?"

"Yeah, you were never a person to care about what other people think of you. But y'know … Blaze said that other version of you and you are pretty similar. The same maybe even. And that the other Sonic had feelings for me."

Sonic stopped in his tracks and a sly grin spread across Amy's face. She knew she had his attention now. Sonic would always refuse to admit any kind of feelings towards her or any other girl, but Amy just knew that somewhere deep down, Sonic really did love her.

"She wasn't sure what it was", the female went on, "but she knew it was there. Might have been just respect or friendship … and it might have been more."

"That Sonic is nothing like me", Sonic said flatly and went on walking.

This time, Amy stopped and her tracks and followed the blue hedgehog with a pouting face as he passed by her, seemingly completely relaxed and uninterested. But the very moment Amy thought of a new tactic to get Sonic's attention, her pout disappeared and a determined grin made its way to her lips. She ran up to her hero and went on talking.

"Apparently, he told Blaze that I was a big help to him because I would always get him out of sticky situations."

Sonic laughed out loud.

"That's true", he giggled, "but you also get me into just as many sticky situations. Not life threatening or anything, but still stuff I could do without."

Images flowed through Sonic's head as he said that. There was that one time when Sonic couldn't stop running because she somehow managed that chip to fall into his ear, or that one time when he wanted to destroy that robot only to find her protecting it with all her might. When thinking about her helping him, he immediately thought about that time when the humans back on earth put him into that cell surrounded by water. Sure, he could've broken through without problems, but getting through the water was a bit more of a problem. He was glad Amy had come for his rescue that time and she had impressed him with strength that she very rarely showed.

Then there was that one time when the Metarex had captured him and had left him hanging over water as well. That rescue mission was a tiny bit more chaotic than that other one. That was another of those situations she had brought him too. He still hadn't forgotten to remind her not to rescue him the next time he needed to be rescued.

But there were two situations that were worse than any other and yet, better than any fighting; that time when he had landed in front of Amy's house the day he returned from earth and that time when Amy had come to get him out of that water planet at the final battle with the Metarex. Now THAT was what Sonic called sticky situations and Amy seemed to have quite some talent to bring him into them.

"He said he was impressed at how I swing my hammer and that he was glad that I'm always there to boost his confidence because I always believed in him."Amy went on.

"That hammer of yours …" Sonic said, seemingly lost in thoughts before he looked straight at the female. "I don't like it. I don't like the way you handle it so well and I definitely don't like the way you keep hitting me with it. Those punches really hurt you know."

Amy giggled and apologized cutely.

"But he's right. You really do know how to swing it and if you'd use it more often instead to rely on me all the time, you'd be one heck of a frightening foe and an ally to value."

"And what about the confidence boost?"

"Oh puh-lease! I'm Sonic the hedgehog! I don't need anybody to boost my confidence."

"You're so full of yourself sometimes", Amy sighed.

"And you're a real pain sometimes" Sonic countered.

=!=!=!

Sonic was gone and so was Amy. Violett could still feel the blue hedgehog's presence, that of Amy's was already lost. She had gotten used to the strong aura of power around her. It was everywhere in the ship and not even her best friend's castle was big enough to give it enough room to escape. But many of her allies were powerful and it was hard for Violett to keep them all separated. However, none were as strong as Sonic's. Sure, many had the potential for it, but their power was still locked away and hardly even touched yet, just like Amy's. That girl had a unique and strong power, but it wasn't visible in any way. It hadn't awoken yet. Sonic on the other hand, seemed to have already had opened the gate to his powers already.

However, all that didn't matter right now. She simply did not care if any of the other hedgehogs were present while she was alone with Claws. After all, she was not allowed to have any feelings for him above friendship and she would let no such thing happen. That's why she gently, but with strength that was everything but expected from a fragile looking girl such as Violett, pushed the cat of her.

His face had turned serious again. That was not a good sign. Claws was only serious when something troubled him and ever since she had arrived here, he had been serious pretty often.

"You've changed so much", the young king stated. "It's as if you're not Violett anymore."

The female said nothing. With an unreadable face, she waited for her companion to go on, but for a whole while, he said nothing. But no matter how long a silence is, it would always be broken sometime.

"I remember you never smiled and now, you always do. But I like it when you smile."

"Even though you know it's fake?"

"Yeah. It took me a whole while to notice it, but I realized that that gentle, ladylike manner of yours is just a facade. Thank heavens I had Pythia as my teacher, I would never have known otherwise."

Violett still didn't say anything. Claws had managed to break through her first façade, the newest and most unstable one. But if you looked close enough, you could see that the mage was nothing but a whole labyrinth of disguises so that no one would be able to see her true self. Nobody, except for those who Violett has grown up with knew who she really was and so far, nobody else had managed to figure it out. Not even Blaze and Claws.

"That offer I made you back then", Claws said after a bit of silence, "that one I made after that first time you defeated me…"

Violett thought for about five seconds until she finally remembered and when she did, her cheeks went pink.

"You couldn't have meant that", Violett choked out.

"Why not?" The cat grinned sheepishly.

"Claws, we were just kids! There is no way you could have taken that seriously!"

Claws had to hold his ears so that the hedgehog's shrieks would not affect his ears negatively.

"I mean it now more than ever."

Violett looked at him as if he was a ghost, but then, her features relaxed. She took a deep breath to calm herself down, but said nothing. That made Claws nervous, but he waited for the magician to make up her mind. It took him a minute or two to grasp that she was expecting him to go on and so he did.

"What do you say?" he asked. "Will you marry me as soon as this whole prophecy manner is over with?"

"No", Violett said bluntly.

"But …" Claws looked as if he had just heard that a mountain had moved and had knocked his castle over. "But …" he took another try, but he still couldn't find the right words. "But why not?" It's right what they say; three times's the charm.

"Because of who I am. I am not a normal girl, I'm not even a normal magician and you know that. I'm part of a prophecy, the only hope to my planet."

"But when the prophecy is over …"

"… then there'll be seven hedgehogs and you know only three of them are girls, one me and one Amy. And that is only the case if the prophecy fulfills itself and we all survive that."

"Traditions can be broken."

"Some can, yes, but not the tradition of marriage. It was brought to us by the Master Oracle itself. Not even Pythia had control over it. It's not just a tradition, it's magic so powerful and ancient that it cannot be broken."

"And what about that guardian? The one of the dimensional items? He can break it. You just have to gather them all and …"

"No, Claws. Not even the guardian is as old and as wise as the Master Oracle. He brought up that tradition for a reason and breaking it would be an act of utter stupidity. I'm sorry, but I will marry someone else, there is no way around it."

"Then at least tell me who. Is it that blue one, Sonic?"

"I don't know. The one to decide who I'm going to marry…"

"… is not you … I know."

The young king looked to the ground in defeat. He had known this from the very beginning but even then he was not quite able to just accept it like that and the fact that Violett seemed to put up with it so easy irritated and saddened him at the same time. He would have loved to destroy that whole system Violett had grown up with so that he could have her for himself. But the way things are now, Violett was nothing but a slave that he couldn't free.

He stopped in his thoughts when he felt cold hands beneath his face, tucking it upward so that he was forced to look into bright blue eyes.

"Don't be sad", she said. "I am sure that things will turn out right, one way or another."

"I don't wanna hear that from you!" The cat grinned.

That's right. Thing would definitely turn out right.

?

"Will you tell me what happened?"

Tails spun around when he heard the voice of the princess behind him. Blaze on the other hand, just stood there as if giving other people heart attacks was completely usual.

"I don't know what you're talking about", Tails answered when he calmed down from the fright the cat gave him.

"I'm talking about how you're so different from the other Tails while the others are all so similar to the other versions of them."

"That doesn't have to mean a thing."

"True, but I've seen how they all look at you. They worry about you, which means something must've happened."

Tails eyes narrowed as he looked to the ground. What right did that cat he hardly knew, have to know what happened? With what right was he asking her?

"You know", Blaze started again, "I used to have a friend. A very, very good friend."

Tails ears perked up.

"He helped me when I was in great need. Thanks to him, I managed to get courage and confidence. Without him, I would be hated by my people and if I hadn't met him, I would never have met Violett."

"What happened to him?" Tails asked.

"He went home. At least that's what I hope."

There was his reason. There was Blaze's right to know what had occurred to him; she had gone through something similar. And Tails was almost definitely sure that she had been able to read him so far to know that he had suffered a loss. After all, Violett and her had shared the same Trainer for a while.

"Did you ever see him again?" Tails asked.

"No, though I really wish I did. I just hope that he's okay."

"Me neither. I've never seen her again and I probably never will."

Ups! That was a bit more than he intended to say. On the other hand, it wasn't really a bad thing. After all, she had just shared her pain with him as well.

"So she's dead?" The hotheaded princess asked.

Tails just nodded and Blaze understood that he no longer wanted to talk about it. So instead, she told him about this very special friend of hers, who brought light into her dark life.

**Me: Okay, that was a fluffy chapter. Can you guess who that very special friend of Blaze is? Well, you'll have to wait a whole while to find out because I'm not telling.**

**Blaze: So he will appear?**

**Me: He will appear, yes. But as said, it'll take a while.**

**Blaze: How long?**

**Me: Until you guys reach the next planet.**

**Blaze: (sarcastic) that helps.**

**Me: I know. See you next time. And don't forget to add a comment please.**


	18. The other side

**Next chap is up and it's finally time to take a look into the evil side. I should have done this a lot earlier, but I sort of forgot. I hope you enjoy anyways. Eggman, Decoe and Bocoe belong to Sega, the rest of the characters in this chapter (except for Sonic, but he only gets mentioned once or twice) belong to me, just the story in itself.**

**The other side**

The red lamp started blinking, causing Eggman, Decoe and Bocoe to look up from their work. Only the two-tailed fox that was hiding in the corner did not dare moving, fearing that he'd be noticed by the tall man and his robots. In fact, it was not so much Eggman and his helpers that he feared, but the person that was about to come in; the reason the light started blinking.

The doors slid aside without making a sound and just as quietly, a female, dark grey wolf with long white hair stepped in. But it didn't matter how quiet she was, all four creatures in the room knew she had appeared because the light stopped blinking. After the very first time Eggman had been surprised by Lupa, he had installed this little warning system so that he knew when someone was about to enter his territory.

Eggman gave no sign that he knew she had appeared. He would have the wolf do the first step to give her the impression that she was still unnoticed. For some reason, Lupa enjoyed staying in the shadows without anyone or anything knowing that she was there.

Sonic's long time rival was smart. He had figured out by now that Lupa was not an ordinary creature. She was dangerous in every way and it was the best to keep watch on her without getting on to her bad side. How dangerous she was, Eggman didn't know, but he would figure it out as well.

"Are you making any progress, doctor?" Lupa finally came out of the shadows she loved hiding in so much.

Eggman turned around quickly, seemingly shocked at the wolf's sudden appearance. But then his shocked expression turned into one full of glee and he turned around entirely for an open conversation with his dangerous new ally.

"Indeed I have. I'm already on a new weapon that combines your magic with my technology. It will take Sonic ages to figure out how to destroy it and by the time he has, he will have no chance of survival."

Lupa did not believe a word he said. Sure, the doctor was smart and more than capable of creating the most destructive weapons, but he would never create anything that would seriously injure anybody. It was a good thing that she had found a way around that.

"What about the little present I made you? Is he of any help?"

The fox flinched under Lupa's cold gaze. He was her way around Eggman's flaw. He would turn any weapon hat her ally created into a killing machine, in hopes that they would finally be able to kill the cursed hedgehogs.

"Oh yes. He was more help than I could ever have imagined. The knowledge that is hidden in that head of his is incredible, I learned so many things already. Soon, not even Tails will be able to keep up with me."

Lupa had no doubt about that. The young kitsune might be a niyubi as well, but he did not grow up with the technology of her prisoner and that was what would keep Eggman in the advantage.

"I see. I shall take my leave then. I hope for results, soon."

Not half as quietly as she came, Lupa left the room again, aware that the doctor's eyes did not leave her for one second.

"Can we really trust her?" Decoe asked as soon as she was gone.

"Of course we can't, you idiots!" Eggman yelled at the robot. "That woman is not only extraordinary strong, but completely unpredictable as well. That's a dangerous combination."

"That sort of reminds me of the doctor, don't you think?" Bocoe whispered to Decoe, who nodded in response.

Unfortunately, they were a bit too loud.

"GET BACK TO WORK YOU USELESS PIECES OF TRASH OR I WILL USE YOUR BODY'S TO MAKE MYSELF NEW AND BETTER HENCHMEN!"

The two robots immediately went back to work, not daring to say another word until their creator's temper has cooled down. But they had no need to worry, because Eggman's attention was already drifting to the two-tailed fox that was still cowering in his corner.

"Come out here, Pic. I need your help with this."

The fox stood up and walked over to the hotheaded human, shaking silently. Eggman observed him closely as he had so often. He was the proof that Lupa was everything but harmless. Why else would Pic be so disturbed and so incredibly frightened when she was in the room. Whatever the wolf had done to the fox, it could not have been gentle.

?

"I don't like that doctor."

"I know you don't. I don't like him either."

"Then what do you keep him around for?"

"He's useful to me."

Shane sighed a deep sigh. It was always the same answer, whenever she decided to have a new ally, may it be the niyubi or that crazed out doctor. There were only two companions she did not keep around only because they were useful and one of them was him. Lupa would do anything for her goal, even sticking up with the biggest idiots in the entire world.

"You should be more careful around him. He's not as stupid as you think him to be." Shane started again.

"I don't think he's stupid. On the contrary, he's very intelligent, but he's blind and it's easy to keep him in the dark."

"Wow, what a difference", Shane said, rolling his eyes.

Lupa turned around to face him, giving him a death glare that was even worse than those of Violett's, but he completely ignored it. Having been around Lupa for over 20 years had made him immune to all her threats. He knew she would never hurt him, she held him too dear for that. He was one of the only people who were still dear to the wolf. In fact, he was one of the very few who had ever been dear to her.

"Listen, Lupa, you have to stop underestimating people like that. You know best of all in what kind of situations you get into because of that."

"Nobody's perfect."

"Lupa, I'm being serious here. If you keep on doing that, it's gonna be the death of yours someday."

"SO WHAT?" the wolf screeched, turning on her heels to face to black male.

He shouldn't have said that. He regretted that he said those words the very moment they were out. Death was a very touchy subject to Lupa and he knew that better than anyone else. … except maybe for Lupa herself.

"In case you've forgotten, if something were to ever happen to me I would embrace death with open arms. The only reason I'm still alive is because I know he wanted me to live and I will not throw away the life he gave me and the life he protected!"

Yeah, Shane knew that. He knew that a bit too well because it was him who had used these words to stop Lupa from killing herself all those years ago. He was pulled out of his thoughts when Lupa turned away from him again.

"Just make sure he doesn't notice that we're actually out to kill. We're safe as long as he doesn't know that."

And with that, the graceful wolf lady walked down the dark hallway, disappearing from Shane's sight. The wolf sighed, knowing that Lupa referred to the doctor. Make sure he doesn't notice that we're out to kill, she said. It would be a miracle if he didn't at least suspect it by now.

%(%(%(%

Lupa's arms went wide and for the first time that day did she smile a true smile when her child ran into them. She hugged her son as tightly as she could without having to be afraid of squashing him.

"My little Jun!" she whispered into the little wolfs neck.

"Mama, I'm bored." Jun complained loudly.

"I know sweety. Just wait a little longer. I'll get you a friend to play with as soon as I've found one."

Jun really was a tiny wolf for his age and the complete opposite of his mother. His fur was shining white while the bangs on his head were pitch black, just like the tips of his short hair. Since Lupa had never really settled down on one spot, he had never found any real friends yet, either. So of course Jun was lonely on that huge ship of the creepy doctor with no one to play with, except for Shane. Shane was a good friend. He would come and look after Jun and play with him whenever he had time. And there was still his mother, who would always be there for him, whenever he needed her. But still, Jun longed for a real friend.

Lupa knew all that. Her son had been her only spring of happiness in these last few years and at the same time, ha had been the cause of a lot of pain because he looked so much like his deceased father. The female wanted to make her son as happy as possible, but there was no way that she could look after another child or another slave while she was still going after the dimensional items and with Violett in the way, who knew how long it would take until she had them all. The only thing Lupa could think of was that she would send her son somewhere else, but having him being separated from her would kill her from the inside.

Unless …

"Jun", Lupa whispered, gently pushing the young wolf away from herself. "I know how to get some playmates, but you will have to promise me to do everything I tell you to."

Jun nodded. He knew that he was a bother sometimes and he felt that his beloved mother was very unhappy, so he would do everything he could to help her. And if he would get a few new playmates, all the better. Though, he did wonder what they will be like.

"The first thing you will have to do is be a little more patient. Mama has to go and make preparations, okay? If everything goes well, you'll have a lot of people to play within a few days."

And with that, Lupa kissed the little wolf on his forehead, stood up and walked out of the room, leaving a confused and creeped out Jun behind. Sheesh, he really had a scary mother, especially when she had that grin on her face…

§)§)§)§)§)

"SHANE!" Lupa barked, calling for her assistant and friend.

He appeared right before her in the shadows.

"Stop doing that!" the female barked again.

"The shadows are my element even more than yours."

"Whatever! We need to go make some preparations!"

Shane looked after his friend confused as she stomped away, but shrugged his shoulders and followed her. He knew where they were going already. It was where they always went if Lupa needed to make her preparations; because the very first was usually contacting Violett so that she would know the rules of Lupa's new game. A shiver went down Shane's spine when he thought of that. Lupa's games were never much fun and it seems as if she had thought of an especially cruel one this time, judging from the look on her face.

Pity filled Shane's every feature when he suddenly saw Eggman's yellow robot henchmen walking through the hallway … what was its name again? It would probably be smashed into pieces within the next five seconds.

"DECOE!" Lupa barked again.

The robot flinched and looked up to the wolf. That's when Shane remembered that she won't do anything to it in order to not tick the doctor of. Then what did she want from the little guy?

"Tell you master that he should hurry up with his researches and create as many of his best robots as he can. We are going to meet up with Sonic very soon."

And she stomped of again, Shane right on her heels. There was no way Violett could get safely out of this one. The plan that formed in Lupa's head right now was fool proof and even if it won't go completely right, they will at least take some damage … more than Violett could ever inflict upon her, anyways.

**That's it for now. I will do something that I usually don't do; Rick Blaine's: I would answer your review through PM's, only you've disabled that feature, so I'll answer you here. Don't you worry, your wish will come true soon enough, only that it won't be Shadow who puts Vi in her place. As for Sonic, he has that advantage that you were talking of, he just can't use it yet. But I won't say any more, I don't want to spoil anything, so just read on and thanks so much for the review.**

**Now, thanks to Namineluvv, I realized that there's something that must sound a bit confusing; in one of the previous chapters, Violett referred to Kirio (Blaze's and Claw's father) as 'uncle' while a bit later, Claws proposes to her. Now, Kirio is NOT her actual uncle, she just calls him that because she is so close to the family.**

**One more chapter to go and then I'll make a stop for a while. Sorry guys, but I have a lot of other stuff to write on as well. Still, I hope I get a lot of reviews for this, I doN't care if it's praise or criticism or a mix of both, just please don't flame. Thanks ^^**


	19. Back on the road?

**Sonic the hedgehog and all its characters belong to Sega, I own nothing but the storyline and Violett. Claws belongs to Speedlion. Thanks for letting me use him, bud.**

**Back on the road?**

It was in the middle of the night in Blaze's city. Two of the four moons that encircled her planet were visible that night and the many stars gave the night sky a mythical look to it. The small lake around the castle was glowing brightly, as were the rest of the channels in Vaiora. Looking at it from above was one of the many attractions that pulled tourists from all over to this place.

Sonic and his friends had seen it already, so in this night, they were sleeping peacefully. At least for now, because a wave of magic that could not be seen, hear or felt by ordinary people approached the planet from outer space and hit the city.

Sonic woke up and grabbed his head the moment he did so. The headache he suddenly got was unbearable.

Only a few rooms farther Amy also woke up through some immense pain in her chest. For a moment it took her breath away.

In the room of the princess, fire started dancing around the bed and the ruby on Blaze's forehead started glowing, pulling her out of her slumber. She saw the uncontrolled fire and made an attempt to call it back before it seriously burned anything, but for some reason she failed. Putting more concentration into it, she finally managed to get her flames under control, wondering what it might have been that caused her control to slip away.

One more person woke up with a start. Violett had felt that wave before and she knew what it was.

In another room, Knuckles opened his eyes and was out of bed with in no time. Something was wrong with the Master Emerald, he could feel it. It was a good thing that they had brought it to the castle gardens instead of leaving it in the ship.

The stubborn echidna jumped out of bed and ran out the door, through the hallway, only to stop when he heard Amy's moaning. For a moment, he forgot about the Master Emerald and knocked on Amy's door.

"You okay?" he asked through the door, opening it when he didn't get an answer.

Concern filled Knuckles' features when he saw his friend crouching over in pain.

"Come on", he said, walking to the pink hedgehog and pulling her arm over his neck to give her some support. "Let's get you outside, some fresh air might help."

Amy nodded and went with the red as silently as she could so that she wouldn't wake anybody else up and they were both rather surprised when they saw Sonic on the hallway, clutching his head tightly.

"Oh great, the next case for the nurse", Knuckles sighed.

"At least I'm not a nutcase like you", the hedgehog countered weakly.

Together, they made their way to the castle gardens, were they found Blaze sitting in the grass, meditating. A small circle of flames was dancing around her. But something else caught Knuckles' attention. He could feel the disturbance from the Master Emerald now more than ever and so, leaving the two hedgies and the cat behind, he ran to the little shrine that had been built up extra for it. Sonic, Blaze and Amy followed a little slower.

Knuckles snapped when he saw Violett at the Master Emerald, slowly reaching out to it. She seemed to be in trance, just like the first time she had seen it, completely entranced by its power.

"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?"

It was that yell and a punch in the face that snapped Violett out of her trance. She looked at the four, completely confused, not knowing why she or any of the others where here. Only when she looked a bit closer could she see Sonic holding his head, Amy clutching her chest and Blaze sweating with the effort of keeping her flames under control. The purple hedgehog wiped some blood of her lip.

"Well, what are you doing here?" Knuckles asked again, only a bit calmer than before.

"I would like to have an answer to that myself", was the mage's answer. "I was trying to find something out when suddenly everything went white and the next thing I remember is that you punched me."

Only now did she notice that was standing in front of the fake shrine to the Master Emerald, which would explain why Knuckles, its guardian, was out here.

"What's going on here?"Sonic asked through clenched teeth, now knowing if he would get an answer.

He didn't. Violett just sighed and took Sonic's and Amy's hands. Immediately, the pain weakened and Amy was able to breathe halfway normally again. She took a deep breath and tried to ignore the bit of pain that was still there. Sonic did the same.

"We'll have to leave here as fast as possible." Violett said. "Go wake up the others, please. We can't waste a single second."

"Is there anything we can do to help Blaze? She doesn't seem all too comfortable either."

The princess didn't react when Amy said her name. She was still too caught up on keeping her powers under control, though the effort she had to use for that slowly became less and less.

"I'm sorry. All I can do is lender your pain a bit. It's an ability I've had ever since I could think, though I don't know why. But don't worry, Blaze'll be back to normal soon enough and so will you. Now go pack up your stuff. We'll be leaving at dawn."

"I'm not going anywhere until I made sure everything is okay with the Master Emerald."

Violett sighed, but let him do as he wished, while Sonic and Amy ran back into the castle. As soon as they were gone and Knuckles was distracted, Blaze spoke up.

"What was that?" she asked through clenched teeth.

"Lupa send us a message."

"Explain that!"

Violett looked to the ground for a few seconds, thinking of the best way to explain the situation to her best friend. "How are we able to hear what other people say?"

"Through Vibrations …"

"Exactly. People who can control their magic extraordinary good can create such vibrations as well and send them into whatever direction they wish. People with more mana, magical energy, then what's usual can sense these vibrations if they cross them and react to it. From the looks of it, you absorbed the mana in that wave, which is why you have a power burst and can't control your flames. Sonic and Amy have magic as well, that's why the pain. Knuckles is connected to the Master Emerald, and it's reacted to the call as well. Since I have a mage's mana, I do not only feel the wave, but I can even read the message in them."

"And what does it say?"

"It says that Lupa knows that we are here and she'll come to kill us and take the Dimensional Items."

Blaze looked to the ground. For some reason, she realized that she almost had complete control over her fire again, which meant that Sonic and Amy would no longer be in pain. But it also meant that Knuckles would be back soon. Knuckles, who woke up because of the Master Emerald.

"Say, magical objects react to the vibrations as well, right?" Blaze asked.

Violett's brows furrowed. "Yes, why are you …" She didn't manage to finish the sentence since the same thought struck her that had stricken Blaze as well; "… the Emeralds!"

Blaze nodded. "And the dimensional items too. My necklace feels incredibly hot, although I don't know if it's because of me or if it's the reaction to Lupa's call."

"You go look after the Sol Emeralds, I'll tell Tails to look after the Dimensional Items and then I'll go look after the Chaos Emeralds!"

And in unison, the ways of the friends departed. Blaze made her way up the tower in the middle of the castle gardens and with endless determination climbed up all the stairs to the top. The closer she got to the emeralds, the harder it was for her to keep her fire under control and she was panting heavily from the effort by the time she reached the very top of Vaiora's highest tower.

The shine of the Sol Emeralds was almost completely gone, although Blaze could see that with every passing second, it returned just a little bit. The princess took a deep breath and released the flames that were fighting to come out. With all the concentration and effort she had left, she directed them towards the Sol Emeralds, who absorbed them all until nothing was left.

The purple furred princess collapsed and didn't move for almost five minutes. She needed that time to recover and gather some energy. So tired that she thought she would fall asleep any second, Blaze picked herself up and couldn't help but smile a small smile when she saw that the Sol Emeralds had their old shine back. With limbs that felt as heavy as metal to Blaze, she made her way back down the stairs, wondering if that was how Violett felt after a day of training.

=(=(=(=(

"Tails, wake up! We have an emergency!"

Slowly and groggily, the kitsune opened his eyes. What could be so important that he was woken up? He had just dreamt the most wonderful dream, in which he had managed to save Cosmo and they were spending time together at Emerald Coast.

"Tails, I need your help! You have to go look after the dimensional items."

"De dimenfinal itms?" Still sleep drunk, Tails sat up and looked at Violett. "Sumthin wrong withm?"

Violett sighed and went to the bathroom that was connected to Tails' room, got some water, went back to Tails and splashed it in his face. Tails yelped and fell out of his bed.

"Wake up, sleepyhead! This is serious. Go look after the dimensional items and see if something is wrong with them and while you're at it, go wake up Vanilla and tell her to look give Sonic and Amy a cup of tea. I'll go wake up Claws so that he can wake up the others and then I'll go look after the Chaos Emeralds."

Before Tails even knew what happened, the purple hedgehog was already at the door, where she stopped and turned around.

"Oh, and as soon as you're done, start packing. We should leave as fast as possible."

And with that, she was gone. Tails looked after her, now wide awake and confused. It was always astounding how Violett could talk so much without really saying anything. Well, the only thing he could do now was to trust her and do as she told him to. So he stood up, put on his shoes and ran to Vanilla's and Cream's room, where he banged at the door as loud as he could.

The older rabbit soon opened the door, with a very sleep drunk Cream clinging to her night gown.

"Vanilla, Cream, could you please look after Sonic and Amy? I think they're not feeling well." Tails panted.

"Did something happen?" the mother asked.

"I think so. Ask Sonic and Amy, they might know something." And with that he ran off.

"Wait, where do I find them?" Vanilla called after him.

"I don't know. Just look for them somewhere. I gotta go!"

Vanilla sighed when Tails was no longer in sight and picked up her little daughter, who fell asleep on her chest and made her way through the castle to look for the two hedgehogs.

Tails meanwhile ran to the dungeons, where they had hidden the Dimensional Items. He entered a dark room with a shrine like table where a beautiful but heavy looking tiara and the infamous sword of Acorns was. Nothing seemed wrong with them, but Tails noticed that the room was a bit warmer than it should be. Slowly, he walked towards the three objects and carefully touched the crown. It was warm, almost as warm as a body, but slowly cooling down.

The kitsune could only imagine how hot the items must have been to heat up the entire room. He would have to report that to Violett. Without wasting another thought, he turned on his heels and ran out of the room.

?"?"?"?"

Claws looked through the dining hall. Everybody was here; Sonic, Amy, Tails, Blaze, Knuckles, Cream, Vanilla, Rouge, Vector, Espio and Charmy. Only Violett was still missing. The young king hoped sincerely that nothing bad had happened to her.

Just that moment, the mage walked through the door, causing everyone to look up.

"Alright, just what the heck is going on?" Knuckles jumped out of his chair immediately.

"Yeah, I'd like ta know that too, sista", Vector added.

"There's no time to explain. For all those who haven't done that yet, go pack your stuff. We have to leave this planet immediately."

"WHAT?" Rouge jumped up this time. "Alright, that's it!" The bat jumped of the table and soared over to Violett. "Listen here girl, I've had it with your mysteries. I am NOT going anywhere if you don't tell us just what's happening here."

The others nodded in agreement, but Claws stepped in between the two girls. Blaze too, heaved herself up and tumbled over to her friend.

"I know all of you don't like it, but trust us, Violett knows what she's doing", Blaze said weakly.

"You'll be thankful for her actions someday." the usually childish king growled.

Violett pushed herself through the two cats to face the Sonic Team.

"Listen everyone. Nobody likes to be kept in the dark, I know that. But what's going on here goes beyond all of your powers and the best thing for you is to know nothing. I know you don't like it, but the only thing you can do is to trust me with this. And believe me, you'll get your answers sooner than you like."

The mage looked at every single one of them and nobody was able to meet her gaze for more than a few seconds. The determination in them just overwhelmed them.

"I guess we have no choice them", Sonic spoke up. "Let's get going."

Everything was put on the ship not long after, it was time for departure. Blaze took one of the extra rooms Tails had built in and Claws promised to look after the Sol Emeralds, knowing that, should one be gone, it was Blaze who summoned them to her.

Tails started the engines while all the others took their farewells from Claws.

"Don't worry too much about me, brother", Blaze smiled weakly. "You know that I can defend myself."

Claws sweatdropped at that. Yes, he knew just too well how good his little sister could defend herself. He has had more than enough experience with that in his life so far.

"The same goes for me," Violett cut in.

Claws sweatdropped some more. Those two girls had a heckload of power in them, even if they didn't seem like it and heaven help anyone who makes them angry.

"Take care big guy!" Sonic called out. "Keep the kingdom running."

"Well visit you again as soon as possible", Amy added.

"Thank you so much for your hospitality. I hope I can repay it to you someday", Vanilla smiled sweetly and Cream nodded in response.

"Don't worry about it, Miss. I was happy to help out."

The engines were on, the ship was ready to depart. Claws stood as close to it as possible without being burned while the huge ship slowly lifted itself of the ground. The young king waved goodbye as he watched the Blue Typhoon slowly raising higher and higher, until it was high enough to turn towards the right direction. Then, it sped off at full speed and was gone in no time.

Even long after the ship was out of sight did Claws still stood on the mountain, gazing up into the sky. Would they really be alright? Claws knew how strong Violett and Blaze were and he was sure that the mage had only chosen the best and strongest in company, but their opponent was Lupa, one of the best and most cruel mages there is. The cat wasn't sure if there was anyone out there who could defeat her and that made this adventure so incredibly dangerous.

Because as soon as Lupa was tired of playing with them, she would, without a doubt, kill them all.

**Me: Phew, finally done. Thanks to Namineluvv, I've realized this chapter lacked a lot of things, so I've decided to rewrite it. Hope you like it. The next chap will probably be up tomorrow and we'll finally get to read some Sonamy fluff. See ya'll soon.**


	20. I wanna become strong!

**Hey there everybody ^^ I know I said I would put this on hold and stuff, but the truth is; I can't get this fic out of my head anymore, since things are soon starting to become good. In fact, this is one of the very first chapters I planned out when I started thinking about writing this and I'm so exited that I've finally done it. I just hope all you guys like it as well.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Sonic the hedgehog nor any of it's characters. All rights belong to Sega**

I wanna become strong!

Sonic raced through the field towards the purple hedgehog in front of him. Violett stood still and watched him closely. Her eyes moved to determine the movements of every single one of Sonic's muscles, trying to foretell what he would do next.

Amy was doing a similar thing, except that she was not observing the movement of her crush's muscles, but the crush herself. After all, she knew Sonic good enough to know how he reacts in different situation. Tails and Knuckles were sitting next to her on the sidelines, not even bothering to watch them. They all had enough fighting experience with Violett to know that no matter what he did, Sonic would lose either way.

If Amy was right, then Sonic would jump high as soon as he got close enough to Violett and smash her into the earth with a kick. The moment for him to do that wasn't far and Amy kept her eyes glued on the blue hedgehog. But Sonic didn't jump. Instead, he made a sharp turn and turned right in the blink of an eye. Amy groaned and let her head fall on her knees. That was the sixth time she had been wrong about her assumptions on Sonic's next moves. Violett's training had not made him faster or stronger in any way, yet it seemed to Amy that Sonic would be a lot harder to beat now, simply because his actions were completely unpredictable. Just when you think that you figured out his style, he changed it, just like that.

Violett herself took a split second to have her eyes catch up with Sonic's rapid change in directions and had to adjust herself to a new position. Sonic was speeding around her in circles and again, Amy made an assumption. If she knew Sonic correctly, he would circle her until he found the perfect moment to attack when she least expected it.

But of course, Amy was wrong again. Sonic jumped in the air over Violett, landed on her other side and ran towards her in attempt to punch her. The mage jumped out of the way, but Sonic followed ran after her, actually managing to get behind her before she even landed. Again, he raised his fist, but Violett just turned out of the way. Sonic dived under her, a movement that was completely unusual for him, and prepared to kick her back into the air. The purple hedgehog noticed that and turned again in midair, where her kick collided with Sonic's kick. The force of the action made Sonic slither across half of the field while Violett landed on all fours just in time. Amy found the magician's strength not only impressive, but scary as well.

"HEY, WHAT DID HE DO WRONG THIS TIME?" Knuckles shouted into the room.

"Yeah, I didn't see that coming either!" Tails added.

"What's the matter?" Amy asked Tails, confused about this situation.

"In mock battles, Violett usually evades and only blocks when we've done something wrong", the kitsune explained.

Done something wrong? What could Sonic have done wrong? His battling looked perfect in Amy's opinion.

"Sonic' done nothing wrong", Violett said calmly, though a little bit out of breath. "I just didn't see any possibility to evade without hurting him. He forced me to block, which is a very good thing, seeing that blocks take a lot of energy. You can see he's gotten a lot better."

Amy looked at Sonic, who crawled back on his feet on the other end of the battle field. He had become so good. And it wasn't only him, Tails and Knuckles had become better as well, though they didn't manage to force Violett to block their attacks yet. But what about her? She was still the same, she didn't get any stronger at all since the Sonic Team left Mobius. And that was of course a complete NoGo! If this went on, Sonic would soon be too strong for her and she wouldn't be able to keep up with him anymore. Another, stronger girl like Violett or the newest team member Blaze would take her place as the best female sidekick and she would be a forgotten character somewhere in the background. No, Amy would definitely NOT allow that to happen.

"Training is over, Amy. Don't you want to follow Sonic?" Violett ripped the pink hedgehog out of her thoughts.

For real, Sonic, Tails and Knuckles all left the training hall, probably to go take a shower, seeing that they all were covered in dirt and bruises. The only ones who were still here were Amy and Violett. And that gave Amy an idea.

"Violett, would you do me a favor?" She asked, standing up.

"A favor?" Violett asked Amy confused, though Amy would bet her position in the team that she had at least a vague idea what Amy wanted from her.

"Will you train me as well?"

For a few minutes, Violett didn't answer, though Amy could see that she was thinking about something. Her eyes became misty and unfocused and the smile on her face was slowly disappearing.

"Why should I do that?" The mage finally asked.

That caught Amy of guard. "Huh?" She said.

"Why do you want me to train you?" Violett asked again. "Give me a reason why I should do such a thing!"

Amy had a reason alright! "Because I want to be Sonic's girlfriend someday, but he'll only acknowledge me when I'm strong ad good enough! I want to be able to keep up with him, to be equal with him so that he'll notice me and my abilities and I want to be the only girl in all the dimensions who is good enough for Sonic!"

The thirteen year old almost screamed those words, but Violett didn't look impressed in any way. She just looked at Amy the same way she did after Amy had asked her to train her and it made a shiver run down Amy's spine. For two long, painful minutes, Violett did not speak or move in any way. Then she finally turned around, towards the exit.

"Alright, I'll train you." She said.

Amy couldn't believe her ears. This was it, that was her chance to completely catch up to Sonic, become almost as strong as him and have him notice her.

"But …" Violett went and Amy stopped her fantasies immediately, "… you will have to pass a test first."

"A … test?" Amy asked again. If only she could see Violett's eyes, maybe they would give her a clue, but the mage was still standing with the back to her.

However, Amy got her 'clues' soon enough, when a rose bush starting growing beneath her. Amy yelled and tried to get away, but the twigs and ranks have caught her legs and were now slowly making their way up to her torso. The thorns scratched up her skin and tore her dress and boots. Finally, they had her almost completely caught, only her head was still free. But now, the rose bush was starting to grow upwards and it was taking Amy with her. When the bush finally stopped growing and blooming, Amy was completely tied up by the ranks and twigs of the bush and had no direct contact with the earth. Also, a purple shield of light was starting to grow around Amy and the bush like a bubble and soon closed up just above Amy's head.

"If you manage to free yourself out of these ranks", Violett said, "then I will train you."

With that, she left the field and left Amy all alone, caught up in the roses. Named hedgehog pouted a bit, but then focused on her task. She took a deep breath and tried stretching her limbs, hoping that it would tear the ranks apart. Only, the closed themselves tighter around her the more she tried and Amy yelped when a particularly big thorn found its way into her flesh. Tears welled up in Amy's eyes and she bit her lip to not cry out. She could feel her warm blood running down her calf. She tried again and again, but the ranks and twigs just kept pulling themselves tighter around her the more she struggled. Soon, another thorn cut into her side and a third into her arm. Amy stopped struggling and fought with her tears.

"Free yourself she says", Amy said bitterly. "And just how am I supposed to do that?"

One more time she tried to tear her way out, but without luck. The thorns just cut deeper into her flesh and by now, she had cuts all over her body. Whatever Violett had expected from her, it was not this. Tearing her way out was not going to do it. Perhaps the solution would come if she waited. Wasn't that what Violett always said? 'You'll get your answers soon enough, just be patient'. Only, Amy wasn't too good at showing patience. But what other choice did she have? So Amy let herself dangle from the rose bush, hoping that the answer would come eventually.

A half an hour went by … an hour … two hours … three hours …

Amy was starting to wonder if anybody was missing her, looking for her. Maybe they could help her get out of this. No, they couldn't, Violett had made sure of that. She knew that wall of light that closed her in, Tails had told her about it. It was a barrier that closed her off from anyone who wanted to get too close to her. No, she needed to do this all on her own.

But her injuries didn't heal, her desperation was starting to grow and she couldn't even summon her hammer to smash the rose bush into pieces. Violett had done a good job in capturing her. Why was nobody coming? She was all alone here, caught up in the roses without hope of escaping.

"Sonic …" she whispered, clinging to the only hope she still had.

"_Once upon a broken heart"_ Amy started singing. "_I was walking alone in the dark. Looking for a way to start again. What I wouldn't give for a friend…"_

The first tears fell to the ground. "Sonic…" Amy whispered again.

"Wow, what happened to you?" A more then familiar voice asked that made Amy look up.

"SONIC!" she cried out in glee.

He was standing there, right in front of her, looking at her with a frown on his face. His eyes was moving from one scratch to another, trying to figure out how bad the damage on her body was.

"I've been worried about you. You just disappeared like that and nobody knew where you were. You really gave me a fright there." The blue hedgehog said.

"You were worrying about me?" Tears were in Amy's eyes, but this time they were tears of happiness.

"Well … yeah, I was. And obviously, that wasn't the most stupid thing to do. Just look at you, you're a mess! Just a sec, I'll get you out of there." Sonic said and got into position to jump.

"NO!" Amy cried.

Sonic froze in place and looked at her in confusion.

"This … I asked for this. I have to be able to get out that on my own."

Sonic straightened up again and looked at her in worry. "Can I at least tie up your injuries?" He asked.

Amy smiled happily and nodded. The blue blur walked towards his friend and stretched out his hand to pull out the thorns that had found the way into her body. But his hand found the purple light barrier that Violett had set up and gave him a small electric shock.

"What the …"

"Oh", Amy sighed, "that's Violett's barrier. Looks like she doesn't want anybody to help me in any way."

"Vi did this?" Sonic asked shocked.

"Well, I did ask for it. It's okay Sonic. Just … promise me to come talk to me every now and then until I've found a way to get out of here, okay?"

Sonic looked at her again, not completely convinced. He looked like he wished for nothing more than to smash that bush into pieces and bring Amy to the medic room, where he knew she could treat herself. But he abandoned that wish and forced a smile.

"If that's what you want, Ames." He said and turned around. "I'll just go tell Cream you're okay, she's been worried about you too. Then I'll come back." And he ran off.

Amy was on her own again, but with new hope. With Sonic here, she wouldn't be as lonely and being trapped like this would be bearable. A small smile made its way to her lips and she couldn't help but be convinced that her crush really did care about her. So she did the only thing she could do; she waited.

Five minutes … ten minutes … twenty minutes … forty minutes … one hour …

Why wasn't Sonic returning? Had he abandoned her? No, Sonic wouldn't do something like this, something else must have happened. Just that moment, Amy caught a glimpse of the blue blur, making his way towards her with full speed, smashing against the barrier Violett had set up. It held. It was stronger than Tails had told her … a lot stronger.

Sonic stopped to look at the barrier in agony. A gaping wound was just above his eye and the blood ran down his face. His gloves were torn apart and his fur was very ruffled on some spots.

"Sonic, what happened?" Amy shrieked.

"It's those black creatures again. They're taking over the ship. Just don't move, I'm gonna get you out of there."

Again, he spin dashed against the wall of light, but it didn't fall. It didn't even get weaker. Tails really had been wrong about its strength.

"What about the others?" Amy asked when Sonic landed on his feet again.

"They're safe. Tails made sure that they all could escape." Sonic answered and spin dashed against the wall again.

Amy could only watch as Sonic made one futile after another to break through the wall of light. In a sudden moment of determination, Amy made another attempt of breaking the ranks apart, which only resolved in her injuries opening again, a few scraps more and a new thorn that that found its way into the side of her chest, dangerously close to her heart.

"Don't move, Amy", Sonic said again, "I swear I'm gonna get you out of there."

Amy let her body go limp and watched as Sonic tried everything to help her. But no matter what he tried, the barrier just wouldn't bugde. When Amy saw a movement, she looked up, only to see that black shadowy creatures enter the battle field. Her heart dropped as more and more of them came in. There was no way Sonic would be able to handle all of them. If only she could help.

"Sonic …" she choked and the hedgehog turned around to see the creatures.

His ears dropped, showing Amy how nervous, anxious or maybe even scared he must be. Still, he positioned himself right in front of her and got into fighting position.

"Sonic, get out of here. Don't worry about me, the barrier will protect me, I'm sure of it." Amy cried.

"No way! I'm not leaving you!" Sonic replied.

"Sonic, don't be an idiot. Do as I say and leave!"

"No!"

Amy could have throttled him that very moment. Didn't he realize she was just trying to protect him? But Sonic turned his head towards her and the smirk on his face wiped away all her worries.

"A great hero I would be if I'd just leave you here, don'tcha think? Nah, I think I'll stay."

"Sonic …" Tears welled up in Amy's eyes again.

"Don't worry Ames. I'll protect you, I promise."

He did, but paid a high price. No matter how strong Sonic had become, he couldn't keep up with these black creatures and was soon completely overwhelmed. And Amy couldn't do a thing but to watch as Sonic took one harsh blow after another and a new feeling welled up in her chest, the same one that had been there when he was in danger of dying back in the final battle against the Metarex. Weak at first, but getting stronger the more she saw Sonic suffer. She wanted to be there for him, wanted to fight with him. She wanted to be stronger, so that she could save him. She wanted to get him out of there. She wanted to protect him with all her heart. She saw how Sonic got hit one more time. She saw how he fell and how he didn't get up anymore. And suddenly, she felt strong. One more time, she pulled against the bush with only one thought in her mind; protect Sonic. No matter how deep the thorns cut, no matter how much blood ran down her body, Amy kept pulling. Then, her body heated up, the bush started glowing bright pink and it vaporized into thin air.

Amy had no time to wonder what had happened she needed to get to Sonic. But the very moment her feet touched the ground, the black creatures where gone and so was Sonic. There was no more blood on her body, no more injuries and no more scratches. Her clothes were in perfect condition as well. And in front of her stood Violett, smiling.

"Wha …" Amy started, but didn't know how to go on.

"Don't worry, Sonic is okay and the ship is still under our control. What you saw there was nothing but an illusion I planted into your head. Training starts tomorrow an hour before breakfast."

And with that, Violett turned around and left a very upset and exhausted Amy behind.

**That's it. Oh I am so proud of myself ^^. Nah, just kidding. I have reason to be proud of myself when there are many people who like this. Next chap'll follow soon and then the real action begins. See ya soon.**


	21. Let the games begin

**Oookay, this might be a bit confusing, but the three or four chapters will light up a lot of things and this entire will start clearing up. I know it's been tough to follow, but I thank everybody who did. Now, let's stop talking and get to the story. I do not own Sonic the hedgehog nor any of it's characters, although I really wish I did.**

**Enjoy!  
**

Let the games begin

"What happened?" Blaze asked as she entered the cockpit. Everyone else was already there, looking at the big screen in front of them.

A spaceship that was not the Blue Typhoon was visible, closing up on them with rapid speed.

"Looks like Eggman's finally making a move" Sonic cried out with glee. "I can't wait to whip his butt!"

Blaze wasn't stupid. She could count one and one together and she knew that, if Eggman's spaceship was here, then Lupa wasn't far off. Violett, Amy and Cream had told her everything in the few days in which they were in space; that Lupa had probably found an ally in Eggman, that they had been attacked by robots and weird black shadowy creatures once and that Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, and Amy were being trained by Violett. Blaze believed that to be a good idea. Violett was a master in material arts and she knew nobody except for Pythia who knew more about magic than she did. If Amy and Sonic really had magical powers, then she would draw them out. Maybe she even already started, seeing how Amy almost seemed to glow bright pink lately.

"So … what do we do now?" Rouge asked into the round.

"I say we go in there and tear the ship apart!" Knuckles cried, clashing his fists.

"That's suicide!" Blaze said.

"No", Violett countered "We should do exactly that!"

"Yeah, looks like you're finally allowing yourself some fun, Vi!" Sonic cheered.

"Have you lost your mind?" Blaze yelped. "You know what awaits us in there. Or rather, you know that we can't even imagine all the things that await us there! If we're gonna go in there, we'll be killed in the blink of an eye!"

Everyone looked at the two purples, wondering who will win this little argument. After all, their next move would be based on it.

"Well," Violett started "the way I see it, we have to possibilities. Either we wait here until they come and get us, or we go in there and take them out before they take us out."

"Only in here, they can only send a few forces while we'll be confronted with an entire army in there."

"True, but as long as we stay here, we're trapped. She could blow this ship up without any of us being able to anything against it and my barriers are far not strong enough to hold against her attacks. If we go in there, then we have a chance to fight. They can't just blow up their own ship, that would be their downfall as much as ours."

"I'm for invading Eggman's ship!"Sonic said, raising his hand.

"So am I", Knuckles added.

"Me too" Amy giggled.

"I'd rather not go down at all, but it looks like we have no choice", Rouge sighed.

"Invading sounds nice to me" Espio mumbled.

"Same here!" Vector said.

"Yay, we'll be an invading force. It'll be just like in those pirate movies that we always watch at home!"

Vector grabbed the little bee's head and pulled him out of the way. All the others looked at each other, unsure of what to think of this. Blaze looked around in disbelieve, but gave in after all.

"I see I'm outvoted." She sighed and turned away.

"Then it's decided", Violett said. "Tails, you're the master mind here. Do you think you could organize this mission as good as possible?"

Tails looked up and nodded. Violett turned back to the screen. She knew that alone with her presence, Lupa had started her newest game; a game they could only win if Violett found out the rules soon enough.

%=%=%=%

"You guys know the plan?" Tails asked when everything was set.

"I'll go in first to find out whatever I can about the ship and send all the information back to you." Espio started.

"Charmy and I'll follow right on his Tails and cause a distraction …" Vector went on.

"… so that all of us can sneak in and take the thing apart!" Sonic ended.

'All of us' were Sonic, Knuckles, Amy, Rouge, Blaze and Violett, but they all knew that. It wasn't the best plan in Violett's and Blaze's opinion, but not even Tails could come up with anything better in the short time and the small amount of information he had.

"I'll stay here and guide all of you. Cream and Vanilla will stay here as well so that they'll be fit to take care of you if you happen to get injured or something. Oh, perhaps you should take these."

Tails gave each of them a watch that strongly resembled the communicator that they have used before.

"Their range is a lot higher than that of the others and they're also a lot more stable. You can reach each other even in the thickest snowstorms. I've already made all the necessary modifications, so the only thing you have to do is to choose who you want to reach and press enter."

Sonic looked at his watch and tried it immediately, by pressing enter when the display showed 'Tails'. Tails watch started beeping three times, then, a small hologram of Sonic appeared on its display. At the same time, a small hologram of Tails appeared on Sonic's display.

"Way past cool!" Sonic exclaimed.

"You keep amazing me with these gadgets of yours", Violett smiled.

"Thanks, but you should get going. Eggman's ship is already in reach."

"Alright", Sonic said, "let's get this party started."

%)%)%)%)%

"Alright Tails, were in", Sonic said to the little Tails hologram that was standing on his watch.

"Great. Did you get Espio's information?" The hologram asked.

"Sure did."

"So you know the way to the cockpit, right?"

"Right!"

"Good. Make your way towards it and tear it apart!"

"Sounds like a plan to me. Alright folks, let's get going!"

Sonic started walking in to the dark, narrow hallway they were in, Knuckles, Blaze, Amy, Rouge and Violett on his heels. Amy ran up front to Sonic and grabbed his arm with a wide smile, which made Sonic roll his eyes in exasperation.

"Amy, stop that" Sonic sighed.

"But I'm scared!" Amy exclaimed and clinged to him even more.

Sonic rolled his eyes again, but said no more. Rouge and Knuckles sniggered in the background, but shut up immediately when the blue blur shot them a death glare and Blaze almost looked as if she pouted.

"What's with you?" Violett whispered to her.

"Nothing …" the princess whispered back.

Sonic, Amy, Rouge and Knuckles turned around when they heard the two purple furred scream behind them, only to see that they had disappeared. What they also saw was a part of the wall that just returned to its original place.

"That can't be good", Knuckles said.

"It's not", Rouge answered Knuckles unasked question. "It means that Vector and Charmy failed. Eggman knows that we're here."

"Tails, what should we … whoa!"

Sonic didn't manage to finish since a trapdoor opened right beneath him and he and Amy fell into the dark, right in front of Knuckles and Rouge and before they could even react, the door closed again.

"What happened?" Tails asked through the communicator.

"Well … Vi and Blaze just disappeared in the wall and Sonic and Amy just fell through the floor. Any ideas on what to do now?" Knuckles took over.

Tails sighed and held his head, thinking the situation over. They were no longer in a group, only in groups of two. Sonic, Amy, Blaze and Violett, probably had no clue where they were. Eggman probably knew that they were in his ship and would take them out one by one. Knuckles and Rouge would still be able to escape, but they couldn't just leave the others behind. So what should he do?

"Go look for the others and as soon as you find any, get out of there", he ordered. "Vector, can you hear me?"

"Loud an' clear, caip'n!" the croc answered.

"Sonic, Amy, Blaze and Violett are lost. Go look for them and then get out of there as fast as you can. Same to you Espio, you hear me?"

"Roger that!" Espio said.

Tails did what he could, now it was up to the others to get out of there. If things got really bad, he would just have to take the Tornado and blast a hole in the ship to get them out of there.

?"?"?"

"IAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Blaze's and Violett's screams echoed through the hallway as they fell sideway into something like an elevator that transported upstairs at neck breaking speed. The two girls clinged to each other as if they're lives depended on it and screamed their lungs out. Their screams stopped as suddenly as the elevator, but they still held tight to each other, panting heavily from the shock. Slowly but surely, Violett's grip loosened and she started feeling that pain from Blaze's sharp nails that had dug into her back.

Blaze seemed frozen in place, her eyes opened wide while Violett started recovering slowly, but she couldn't move because her friend kept her in place.

"Blaze …"

No reaction.

"Blaze, it's over!"

Still no reaction. So the hedgehog gave the cat a head butt. It worked; the pain made Blaze recover from her shock and let go of Violett, who's wounds healed almost immediately. The hedgehog fell on her back and stayed there for a while, while Blaze's knees gave way.

"Wha …" The cat manage to choke out.

"Lupa", Violett only said and rolled on her side so that she could heave herself back up on her knees.

"Oh heavens", Blaze said and got back on her feet as well. "We should get out of this elevator, before it starts moving again."

"Good idea."

The two crawled and walked as good as possible out of the elevator, where they collapsed again.

"You do know that this is exactly what she wanted?" Blaze started.

"You know how Lupa is", Violett answered. "Everyone who knows anything about her can't escape from her games and she started this game from the very moment she send us that message with the wave."

"And what about this game?"

"It's a game of choices. Imagine that you have two doors in front of you and a person standing between the doors, saying something that can be a hint to those who know how to see it. You go through one of the doors and get to another room with two other doors and a person in between. Each one of these doors is a choice that we make and only if we make the right ones can we win this game."

"Then I guess it's a good thing Sonic and the others don't know about that."

"Only somebody who doesn't know anything about Lupa can escape her games."

"So what do we do next?" Blaze asked again. "What's the next choice."

"Right at the moment, we don't have any choices. The only thing we can do is to follow this hall."

Blaze looked up at the hallway in front of them, wondering what would await them up ahead. But Violett was right, at the moment, the only thing they could do was to follow it. She stretched out her arm and called Tails, who's hologram appeared three beeps later.

"Hello Tails. I just called to say that we got separated from the others, but we're okay. A bit shaken, but okay."

"That's good to hear. We were already starting to worry. You didn't just happen to see Amy and Sonic? They got separated as well." Tails replied.

"No, we haven't crossed them yet. But we'll be walking along the hallway we landed in now and see if we can find them and a way out, okay?"

"Please do. Tails over!"

The two friends stood up and started walking into the dark hallway in front of them.

Sonic and Amy started off no better. They were sliding down a slide at incredible speed, screaming out their lungs. The slide seemed to last forever for the two and they were more than glad when they finally tumbled into the hallway. Sonic landed rather harshly with his head first while Amy landed a bit more softly on top of him.

"Amy, get off me!" Sonic growled angrily and Amy obeyed by standing up.

Sonic followed her example, but had to resist yelling at her when she took his arm again. They looked into the hallway in front of them, not knowing if they really wanted to follow it, but it was not like they had much of a chance. Climbing back the steep slide was close to impossible, even for Sonic.

"What do we do now, Sonic?" Amy asked.

"How about we call Tails first?" Sonic said and let his words follow actions, calling Tails, who soon appeared on the watch.

"Sonic, you're okay!" The little kitsune said relieved. "And Amy, too."

"Yeah, we're just fine, bud! There's only that one hallway we can follow, so we'll do that. Do you have any news on Blaze and Vi?"

"They just called a few second ago, they're perfectly fine."

"That's good to know. We'll try to find a way out of here, Over!"

One more time Sonic and Amy looked at the dark hallway in front of them before they started walking and disappeared into the dark, just like Blaze and Violett did.

%=%=%=%

"The others are okay. They're walking through the ship right now, trying to find a way out. Just keep on searching for them", Tails hologram said before it disappeared again.

"Well, I guess that's at least some good news." Rouge sighed. "And you know what else?"

"What?" Knuckles asked grumpily.

"You and I are in this big, dark ship … alone … does that give you any ideas?"

Knuckles blushed furiously as the bat took his arm and snuggled her entire body against him. With a lot of self control, he pushed the girl away and went on walking, or rather stomping.

"You'd think having big boobs would be a girl's best friend", Rouge huffed annoyed before she followed him.

* * *

**Uffa, I'm done. I can't wait for the next few chapters. A lot of things will happen that I planned out long before I even started this story. I'm already so exited! I hope you are too. Things are gonna get really interesting ^^**


	22. Enemy's territory

**That was fast. I already finished the next chapter. A few more questions might just come up, but keep reading and everything will be cleared up. I do not own Sonic the hedgehog nor any of its characters.**

**Enjoy.**

Enemies Territory

"I have to say my dear; your magic is quite the weapon to have!" Eggman laughed loudly.

The female wolf just smiled charmingly at the doctor beneath her. Almost completely in synch, their eyes went back to the monitors in the cockpit that showed almost every single part of Eggman's ship. Vector and Charmy could be seen on one of them, Sonic and Amy on another, Knuckles and Rouge were on one and Blaze and Violett as well. Espio stayed invisible for the cameras, but Lupa had covered the entire ship with a magical hue, so that not a single movement could escape her senses, which is why Eggman knew that the chameleon was here as well. Truth be told, that hue was bringing him to the tip of his nerves, but he had enough self control to cover that.

"You give me too much credit, doctor", said the wolf-lady. "It is my magic and your technology together that makes us so strong."

Eggman laughed again at that. "You make me blush. Just don't underestimate them. They have an excellent Mecha-Mechanic as well and from what I've experienced so far, a powerful mage. And they have Sonic. He can overcome anything."

"Don't worry", Lupa said calmly. "Sonic can't keep up with Shane's shadow-warriors, Violett will never be able to beat me and not even the niyubi can outsmart my games combined with your plans."

"What I don't get is why someone like you plays fair", Decoe interrupted the two geniuses, but realized by Lupa's icy stare that he said a wrong thing.

"What do you mean by 'someone like you'?" She asked dangerously quiet.

"Well…" Bocoe came to his friends aid, "… you know …. People like you or the doctor …"

"Yes … evil people …"

The two robot's didn't get to say any more. Lupa threw magical bonds at them and chained them to the wall in a split second. In another split second, she had closed in on Decoe and looked like she was ready to tear him apart.

"I dare you call me evil again!" She hissed. "The one who's evil is Violett, not me or do you call it evil to purchase a dream?"

Neither or the two dared answering her as she tortured them with her glare.

"My dear, I'd rather you not tear these two apart, I still need them. I can create some robot's for you to smash if that would help."

The female looked at the doctor for a few seconds before she retreaded from the two robots and released the binds on them. She put some hair back in its place that had found their way into her face when she went for Decoe and Bocoe and turned towards the exit.

"Yes, that would be very nice", she said. "Will you go on with the plan by yourself?"

"Of course, my dear. Just go let of some steam. Decoe and Bocoe will create about ten of the newest robot models for you to smash. Isn't that right, you two?"

The two robots flinched in fear when Eggman addressed them with a very kind smile on his face. They both knew that meant; they would be severely punished pretty soon. Right at the moment, they had no clue who was scarier; Eggman or Lupa

"Yes, sir", Decoe peeped frightened and the two ran off.

"Thank you doctor. Excuse me." And with that, Lupa left the room.

Eggman looked after her for a few seconds with a frown on her face. That wolf was the direct opposite from him; he was evil, but just couldn't be cruel. She was very cruel, but Eggman seriously doubted that she was evil. She just didn't have that look in her eyes. She seemed rather … hurt, lonely, sorrowful … enraged … a dangerous combination. He had been right from the very beginning; he would have to be very careful around her.

)§)§)§)§

Sonic couldn't help himself. This place was just giving him the creeps, which was very unusual for him. Nothing ever scared him, except when one of his friends was in serious danger, which didn't happen too often. How often had he invaded Eggman's hideouts by now, how often had he taken neck breaking risks just for the fun of it? And now he was scared because of a simple dark hallway. It was ridiculous. But there was something about this place that just didn't seem right. He was actually glad that Amy clung onto him, because the feeling of having something familiar close to him calmed him down. How ridiculous could things get?

"Sonic, this place is scary. It gives me the creeps." Amy moaned, clinging on to her crush even tighter.

"I don't like either, Ames. But there is no other way."

He couldn't blame her for being frightened, especially since he was frightened himself. Or at least it brought him to the end of his nerves.

"Can't you bring us out of here?" The female asked.

Sonic had considered that himself a lot of times. But if there were any other traps, any more dangerous traps, would he be able to dodge them? Heck yeah, of course he would. He was Sonic the hedgehog after all.

"Hang on tight then!" Sonic said and Amy climbed on his back happily.

She had nothing to fear as long as Sonic was around. He would be able to beat anything, no matter what it was that laid in the shadows of this hallway. He would protect her and she would protect him. After all, that was the entire reason she was training with Violett. The very moment she finished that thought, the blue blur sped off.

§(§(§(§

Not far away, on another hallway, Knuckles and Rouge were having the same problem. Eggman's bases weren't usually creepy, especially for Rouge who had been Eggman's acquaintance every now and then, but this place just made her fur stand upright. Her sensible ears picked up sounds that she could not identify and it made her nervous. She didn't even make any more tries at flirting with her partner for this mission, who was a far way ahead of her now that she thought about it.

That particular partner didn't feel any better. While just pressing on and seeming tough on the outside, in the inside he was just as much a bundle of nerves as Rouge was. His eyes kept wandering from one side to another, though the only things he saw were the walls of the hallway. Something was here and whatever it was, he didn't like it.

"Can't you just punch a way out of here?" Rouge asked quietly, rubbing her arms. "I don't like this place at all."

"Oh, and why should I do that?" Knuckles asked brashly. "If you wanna get out of here so bad, then kick your way out. I'm finding Sonic first!"

"Fine, we'll do it your way", Rouge pouted and flew to the echidna.

In reality, Knuckles would have just loved to punch through the walls, but he had a feeling that there were things behind these walls that he just didn't want to see. If only Rouge would act a bit more herself, that would help him as well. Sure, she would drive him up the wall with teasing and would embarrass him to no end, but that was ten thousand times better than feeling like he was prey.

/!/!/!

"I WANNA GET OUT OF HERE!" Charmy wined loudly only to be hushed by Vector.

The little bee was dead frightened and kept clinging on to the crocodile, who kept telling him to be quiet. He too felt that there was something about this place and he hated it. But he wouldn't leave before he found at least one of the others, his pride as a detective forbid him to do so. Charmy didn't have that pride. He was just a kid who was about to pee in his pants if he were wearing any and he wanted to get to safety.

"Listen up, kid", Vector started, "a know this place aint the greatest in the world, but we gotta get the others, get it? Cuz if we aint getting them, then they'll be stuck in this place, get it? Would you wanna be stuck in this place?"

"N … no …" Charmy sobbed.

"Good! So we go find the others and then we get the hell outta here. Just stop the brawling, we aint wanna wake anything! Hell knows what kinda things this place keeps as pets!"

Charmy nodded quietly and clung to Vector, tighter even then Amy clung to Sonic. The croc just let it happen. The poor kid was frightened out of his wits and he could use any comfort he could get. Not that Vector himself felt any better.

So he just walked on along the hallway they were in, with Charmy trying his best not to cry and be brave while clinging on to his friend. They walked until Vector suddenly stopped in front a door to his right. Maybe this door would lead him to one of the others. Slowly and cautiously, he walked towards it, while Charmy's tears of fright started falling again. Even more slowly and cautiously, he opened it while Charmy was biting his lip so that he wouldn't start brawling.

The door opened completely and without a sound, much to the two detective's relief. In front of them was a staircase that led into the dark. That was never a good sign, but Vector thought it necessary to take a look at it.

"Come on, Charmy", he said. "We're checking this out."

Charmy would have just loved to protest, but he was so scared he couldn't even find his voice. So he just followed the crocodile, while clinging on to him, hoping that they would come out of this alive.

$%$%$

Two who were rather talented at hiding how much they were on the edge were Blaze and Violett. They just walked along the hallway quietly, not letting their fright get to them, knowing that Lupa would use it against them if they did. Violett knew about the hue that made their hair stand upright and had told Blaze about it. Still, both of them hoped they would get out as soon as possible.

"If we meet Lupa, would you be able to beat her?" Blaze asked.

"No, never. Lupa comes from the family of the eldest and most powerful mages in this entire zone and even for their standards she's a prodigy. She can control her mana without even breaking into sweat. Unlike me …"

"You'll learn it too, someday."

"Thanks. You know, with you by my side, we at least have a chance of escaping from her, so not all hope is lost."

Blaze smiled a small smile before she turned her gaze to the ceiling of the hallway they were walking in. An unpleasant thought crossed her mind. Unable to shake it off, she turned to back to her friend.

"Do you think the others will be alright? What if they meet Lupa?" She asked.

"That's a hard thing to say. I guess Sonic would have chances of beating her if he could control his powers. Amy might have a chance as well if given the right trigger. As for the rest … I did everything I could to protect them. The rest is up to them."

Again, Blaze shifted her gaze to the ceiling and her eyes turned misty and unfocused. "Let's just hope they make it", she whispered.

)§)§)§

"Can you give me any hints?" Espio said to the Tails hologram on his phone.

"The only thing I can tell you is that they're all walking in a one-way hallway." Tails answered.

"Will Amy and Ms. Violett be alright?" Cream asked, grabbing one of Tails' tails.

Tails looked at the little rabbit, thinking about his reply carefully. After all, even Violett, who was so much stronger and more powerful than Sonic, has caught on to the nervousness that everyone seemed to have in the halls of Eggman. What was in there that made even a magician so nervous? On the other hand, Sonic always found a way out of a pinch unharmed … mostly.

"You know how Sonic is", Tails said. "He always finds a way. Amy is strong, too and she's with Sonic, so she'll be okay. Violett is even stronger than Sonic, me and Knuckles combined, so you can count on her!"

Cream looked at her with big, worried eyes and Tails turned soft immediately. He had to bite his tongue so that he wouldn't just tell her that they would be out of that ship in no time, something that he would have done without hesitation before Cosmo died. But now he knew how terrible it was to have all your hopes crushed. Still, he took the little rabbit into his arms in an attempt to calm her down.

"Believe in them", he whispered into her oversized ear. "Right now, that's the only thing we can do."

Cream smiled at that and nodded enthusiastically

"I believe in them," she cried before she ran back to her mother.

"Tails", Espio hissed from the other spaceship.

"What is it?" The kitsune asked.

"We have a problem here …"

(§(§(§

Rouge has taken Knuckles hand and was pressing it with strength that one would never have expected from her. She was silent, except for a few frightened squeaks that escaped her self control every now and then. Her eyes were fixed on the ground and tears were swimming in them, her pupils had minimized. She was shaking all over, everything in her screamed to turn around and walk away, but she kept walking, one step after another.

Knuckles was feeling no better. His adrenaline was at incredibly high, his fright pressed on his lungs so that he could hardly breathe and it only got worse the farther they walked into the ship. He couldn't even concentrate on Rouge's weird behavior, but pressed her hand back, glad to have something familiar to touch. But he wouldn't give up and just abandon his friends. For all he knew, they might be of worse than him.

Both looked up as they saw a small light and spotted a door at the end of the hallway. It seemed like whatever it was that frightened them so much was coming from there. None of them wanted to go in there, but Sonic or one of the others might be there, so they kept walking, slowly, one step after another and finally, reached the door. It was open, which didn't help calm them down. They walked into the next room and found quite a big hall with that stored nothing but a single chair on the other side of the door and another door next to it.

A dark grey wolf with long, voluminous white hair and dark red eyes was sitting on it, wearing nothing but a long, black coat, black boots and black gloves. But the most frightening thing about her were her piercing red eyes. Knuckles and Rouge petrified when they saw her. She was the center of the fright they had felt.

"I've been waiting for one of you to appear and now I get two. How fortunate", the wolf laughed darkly.

No, she wasn't just the center of the fright … she was their death.

Blaze stopped in mid tracks, her ears perking up and turned in panic. Her eyes did the same and her entire body was tense.

"What's wrong?" Violett asked, stopping as well.

"Do you hear that?" the princess asked back.

Violett looked at her friend for a second, before she turned forward again and closed her eyes to sharpen her other senses. She couldn't hear anything, but her magic sensed a movement quite a distance away, coming closer at rapid speed. And whatever it was, it was big.

"What is that?" Blaze asked.

"I don't know", the magician answered. "It seems like it doesn't have a solid form, but somehow, the feel is familiar."

"Yes. I've heard that noise to, but I can't quite put my finger on it."

"Any ideas on what to do?" Violett asked, opening her eyes again.

"We could blast a hole into the wall and hide, but with Lupa being the mistress of this ship, that doesn't seem like a great idea." The hot-headed princess answered.

"My thoughts exactly", the hedgehog commented.

It was close now. She could feel it's presence without even concentrating and it was a lot bigger and a lot faster than she originally thought and Violett started doubting that they could take that thing on.

And just that moment, 'it' became visible and Blaze's and Violett's ears dropped. In front of them was a huge wall of water, closing in on the two and filling the entire hallway. There was no way to escape.

!=!=!  
Eggman was happy, happier than ever before. Knuckles has reached Lupa and she would take care of them, Violett was trapped and would be washed away by a water wall and who knows where Espio was. Now, the only one who was missing was Sonic, who was just running towards his doom. Eggmans eyes were glued on the monitor and he watched Sonic with Amy on his back running along the hallway.

Soon, Eggman could see the blue blur running towards a light, then he disappeared. There was no camera where Sonic was now. It would just be destroyed anyways. The two were completely at Shane's mercy and he wouldn't give them any mercy. He was just that kind of guy. They would be captured in no time.

"Well Amy", Sonic said, getting into a fighting position, "looks like we're gonna have some fun after all!"

Amy wasn't so sure about that. Standing back to back with her crush, she brought out her hammer and eyed the thousands of shadowy creatures that surrounded them.

**Okay, so how is the crew gonna get out of this mess? Things are just getting worse and worse.**


	23. The art of surviving

**And the next chappie's out. You were asking how they'd escape? Well, here's the start of the solutions. Hope you enjoy it. I do not own Sonic the hedgehog nor any of its characters, except for Violett, Lupa and Shane. All rights belong to Sega!**

**The art of surviving**

"WATER?" Blaze shrieked in panic.

How could Violett blame her? She was a cat and cats had a natural fear against water. Next to that, Blaze was the mistress of fire and everybody knows what water does to fire. Besides, she was panicking as well. Sure, Violett was strong, but no magic could come up against elemental forces and water just happened to be one of the four strongest and purest elemental forces.

"RUN!" The mage shrieked back and started running in the other direction.

Not like it would do much good, but right at the moment, that was the only thing she could do. The wall of water was closing in on them fast and there was nothing they could do about it. So she ran, with Blaze on her heels.

"Blaze", she called to her friend, "Can you try evaporating the water?"

In panic and while running, Blaze started summoning her flames, but she didn't manage to summon enough in time and the water swallowed the two purple-furred whole.

/"/"

Involuntarily, Knuckles and Rouge each took a step backwards. There was something about the wolf in front of them that just didn't seem right. Still, showing weakness in front of an enemy could be your downfall, the bat and the echidna knew that just too well.

"Alright, who are you?" Knuckles tried his best to yell.

The wolf looked at them with a mix between confusion and boredom. She kept that look as she turned completely towards them, before a tiny, cruel smile made its way on her lips.

"Violett hasn't told you about me? How disappointing", she cackled. "But I guess it's only natural. Had she told you about me, you wouldn't have dared entering this ship!"

"He asked you a question!" Rouge said as determined as she could.

"Silly bat", Lupa hissed, her smile vanishing in an instant. Slowly, she started walking towards the two, one step after another as she talked, too calm for the two to be comfortable. "You want to know who I am? I'll tell you who I am. I am the 'who' when you call 'who's there?' I am the shadows on the moon at night and the one who hides under your bed when you brim of fright. You shall know who I am. I am your worst nightmare!"

These words, as silly as they sounded, actually had an effect on Knuckles and Rouge, simply because they could believe that all that was actually true when looking at the female in front of them. Jet, Knuckles couldn't help imagining what Sonic would say if he had heard this; something like 'and I'm superman with the wind in his back' or 'Sheesh, you're even more catchy then mean ol' Eggman'.

"But you can call me Lupa. And today is the day you are going to die!" Lupa finished.

Knuckled and Rouge froze on the spot when they looked into Lupa's dark red eyes. Rouge couldn't help but to notice that they had the color of old blood. This woman had killed before and she would, without a doubt, do it again. They had to escape, had to free themselves from her gaze and get out. That was the only way to survive, otherwise they would live no longer. But what could they do?

What could they do?

?$?$?$

"Vector…" Charmy whispered.

His voice would allow no more. Why, oh why did he have to insist on going as well? Even now, that his eyes have gotten accustomed to the dark could he hardly see a thing and this weird feeling was almost forcing him to lose it completely. Only being able to cling to Vector helped him a bit.

"Don'tcha worry, bud. I'll protect ya." Vector whispered.

They kept walking down the stairs, hardly able to see. It felt like they were in a basement, which didn't really make sense to Vector since they were in a spaceship and spaceships don't have basements.

As they reached the end of the stairs, Vector could make out bars on both his sides. Looking forward, he could see bars through the entire hallway and behind the bars were rooms. They were in a dungeon. But what would Eggman need a dungeon for? He was not the one to capture somebody and just let them rot in a cell.

Vector kept walking on, Charmy right on his heels. He checked through one cell after another, hardly able to see, yet, able to make out that there was nobody there. It was one of the last ones in which he found someone. All he could make out was a small figure crouching against a wall.

"Yo, you there, you allright?" Vector asked and Charmy forgot his fright for a moment.

The figure lifted his head and its blood red eyes shone through the dark. Vector looked at the eyes and found that they did not belong here. They were far too innocent to belong to a prisoner.

"Who's here?" The figure asked.

Vector guessed that it was a boy, not older than Charmy or Cream. Why was a little boy locked in a dungeon? It made no sense.

"Ma Name's Vector an' this little guy's Charmy. Listen, kid, just stay where ya are. We're gonna bust ya out o' there!"

The boy nodded and Vector brought truth to his words. He took the bars and tried pulling them apart … no succes. He tried kicking the entire gate in … no succes. Not until Charmy found the hinges and loosened them did they manage to open the door and when they finally did, the boy stood up and ran to Vector. He tackled him in a hug and started sobbing uncontrollably. It was a little white dove with black tips on his feathers.

"Now, now, kid. Ya're safe with us. We're detectives, ya'know. Say, are there any other prisoners in here?"

The boy looked up at Vector and shook his head. The croc smiled and heaved him up. It was time to get out of here. However, had he walked on, he would have found a two tailed fox sitting in one of the cells.

(/(/(

"You knew I was here all along, didn't you, Eggman?" Espio asked darkly.

The overweight human turned around to look at the chameleon emerging from the shadows. Once you got used to Shane and his way of moving around, it seemed like Espio was an elephant. But of course, the ninja would never know that. Shane's specialty was to keep in the dark and Lupa's plan was to let him stay there. He was going to be a factor that neither Violett nor Sonic would ever be able to count with and that would be her triumph.

"Of course I did. You may have hidden from my cameras, but no one can escape from her."

"Her?"

Eggman raised an eyebrow. Did he really not know? Had that magician of theirs really been stupid enough to leave them in the dark about his newest ally? Well, if that was the case then Eggman would not take this advantage away.

"Her." He therefore answered. "She's a person you will never be able to beat and that's all you have to know."

For a second, Eggman waited for a stupid remark from Decoe, Bocoe or Bokkun until he remembered that they were charged of producing the newest type of robots. The doctor didn't like the fact that he was so used to his three henchmen at all, but what was he supposed to do about it?

"Now listen, Espio. You're friends are probably already captured by now and there's no way you can free them. However, since I'm such a nice guy, I will let you run. Run back to your ship and tell your little friends that Eggman and his new ally are unstoppable. Eggman empire will rise and not only over Mobius, but throughout the entire Zone. Hahahaha!"

The chameleon clenched his teeth. Why should he run if he had the perfect chance to bring down this despicable human right here and there? On the other hand, thinking about all his friends being captured, how much of a chance did he really have? Maybe it would be smarter to go look for his friends first or for that mysterious 'her' that Eggman was talking about. From the looks of it, she was the source of all evil, so if she was taken care of, then this entire mission would be completed … probably. Who knew what was going on Violett's mind.

So he took the doctor's advice and disappeared back into the shadows. But he wouldn't run. No, he would never run. He would go find that ally and save his friends and then they would return to the ship altogether.

)§)§

Violett released the breath that she could no longer hold. She had tried her very best to survive, but her lungs were screaming for hydrogen and even though she knew that it would be her death sentences, she opened her mouth and released all the air in her lungs. Desperately, she tried getting fresh air in only to … succeed? The pain in her chest went away as new and fresh hydrogen filled her body.

The magician opened her eyes and saw, that even though the flow of the water was so strong that it should tear her apart, it seemed to just pass her while she was swimming on the spot. Immediately, she was reminded of her home. There had been a river high on the mountain, not too far away from the castle which she shared many memories with. Whenever she had the time to (which really wasn't often), she would go there and play with the water. She had been able to swim in it and breathe in it and the water had always seemed like a living thing. But Violett had always thought that this was because the lake was magical.

This water surely wasn't magical and yet she was able to breathe. The water surrounded her and caressed her as though she was a long lost child of it. But Violett had no time to focus on the water. She had to make sure of something else first.

"Where's Blaze?" she said and was surprised to hear her voice.

A split second after she talked, she saw the cat being drifted away. She was trying her best to evaporate the water around her so that she could keep breathing, but her efforts were of hardly any use. Violett could see that her friend was close to unconsciousness.

As fast as she could, she swam to the princess and grabbed her hand. It was strikingly hot and Violett bit her tongue in an attempt to bear the burns on her hand. In any way, Blaze stopped fighting. She was gasping for hydrogen and was just as surprised as Violett to see that she received it.

"Come on", Violett said and Blaze's eyes got even wider when she realized she could understand her.

Together, they swam towards the direction the water had come from. They swam for a long time and the water just didn't seem to take an end, much to Blaze's dismay. Still, Violett pushed the two forward, knowing that stopping was the most stupid thing they could do. Both were at the end of their strength when they finally reached the end, even though they didn't even have to swim against the flow. They found halt on the floor and stayed there, panting heavily.

"What …" Blaze was the first to speak, "what on earth was that?"

"I don't know", the mage answered. "But I will find out. Just … not now. Come on, Blaze. We have to keep going."

With a lot of effort, the two found their way back to their feet and walked through the water even farther into the hallway.

"="="

Knuckles and Rouge could only stand there and stare as the wolf lady in front of them was preparing for her first attack. She was summoning energy balls, much like Violett used them. The only difference was in the color; while Violett's where purple, hers were dark blue. She send them off and the smirk on the woman's face got even wider.

But just in time, Knuckles got a hold of himself, ran to the bat, grabbed her and jumped out of the way. One energy ball stroke his side and a clean wound, like a paper cut only bigger, opened. Immediately, Knuckles realized that these energy balls were nothing to play with. They were sharper than any knife and should any of them ever hit him in the wrong spot, he'd be dead immediately.

Unfortunately, the energy balls didn't disappear. Instead, they turned around and charged at the echidna again.

"Rouge" he said and looked at the bat that was leaning against him.

He had meant to ask her if he had a plan how to get away from this, but the moment he saw her, he knew that it was no use. She was shaking terribly, her ears were hanging down sloppily and … where that tears in her eyes? The poor girl was completely out of it, but the rad red wouldn't be able to take care of both of them. He needed to find a way to get Rouge back to her senses. Too bad he wasn't a master at thinking. Why wasn't that good for nothing mage here? She'd know what to do.

The balls came close again and Knuckles jumped, with Rouge this time securely in his arms. It was a narrow dodge because of the bat's extra weight. He tried his best, dodging Lupa's attack over and over again, but he was soon starting to become tired. Not soon after, the first ball stroke his arm. If only he could find a way to block them.

Another one stroke the echidna's shoulder, soon, a third one stroke his leg. That's when Knuckles collapsed. His injured leg was no longer able to hold his and Rouge's weight and so he had no choice but to sit down and let her fall.

But that seemed to wake her up from her shock. Slowly, her eyes seemed to take in her surroundings again and they widened when she saw Knuckles' injuries. He had protected her all this time and she hadn't even noticed.

"Knuckles …" she only breathed.

The energy balls no longer charged at them. Lupa seemed to have lost interest in that game. Instead, she smiled evilly at the two, already thinking about the next game. But she never managed to finish thinking, because that moment, a few shuriken came out of the shadows that Lupa evaded only very nearly. All three looked into the direction that shuriken had come from and saw Espio hanging on the wall, ready to help out.

)§)§

"Is that all you've got?" Sonic mocked as he evaded another one of the shadowy creatures.

He and Amy had been at it for what seemed like ages, although it could not have been more than a few minutes. Sonic was ecstatic and completely in his element and Amy knew it. So the only thing she could do was to fight with just as much enthusiasm right by his side. They hit and dodged and sometimes, they even managed to destroy one of those creatures. But the fact that there were just too many of them soon became visible.

Amy was fighting five of those monsters at once and so she was distracted. Sonic was a few steps away, fighting shadows of his own. He turned his head to Amy when his smile faded. One of those creatures, it had an arm that looked like a spear, was charging at her from behind and she was too caught up in her battle to see him.

"AMYYYY!" He yelled and ran to the girl as fast as he could.

But for one of the very few times in his life, he was not fast enough. Amy turned around and her eyes widened while her pupils became dangerously small.

"KYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Amy's scream echoed through the entire ship.

Vector, Charmy and the boy looked up when they heard the scream. They were almost outside the ship, only a bit more and they would be safe. But could they really just leave when they knew that something had happened to their friends? Well, it was not like they had much of a choice.

Violett and Blaze turned on the spot, knowing immediately that something must have happened to the hedgehog. They looked at each other for a second, before they both started running again. They had to either get to Amy or get out of the ship. There was no other way to help them.

Espio, Knuckles, Rouge and Lupa looked around frantically, trying to make out where the scream was coming from. Espio caught himself first and used the others distraction to lay a few traps. Then, he silently told the others to run away as fast as they could. Lupa noticed of course, but Espio threw a few more shuriken to keep her at bay and ran himself. Lupa ran after them, but noticed the traps and the three heroes managed to win a bit of time by her dodging them. However, she send her energy balls after them which they evaded closely. Soon they were out of sight, but they could feel the wolf's deadly presence following them. They had to escape her if they wanted to survive. It was their only chance.


	24. The reason for strenght

**Here's what you've all been waiting for; answers! Not all of them, but quite a lot anyways. Hope you enjoy ^^ I do not own Sonic nor any of its characters.**

The reason for strenght

Amy was frozen in place, unable to move. Her eyes were opened wide while her pupils were dangerously small and her entire face turned white. The weird feeling that she had had when being tested by Violett was returning, but she didn't notice. She was so shocked, she didn't even notice the blood that fell on her. It was Sonic's blood. He was in the air, right above Amy. The shadow monster with the arm like a spear had hit Sonic right through in his chest and that spear was now looking out on the other side.

He might not have been fast enough to prevent the attack. So instead, in a desperate attempt to protect the pink hedgehog, he had thrown himself in front of her and had taken the attack for her. And for the few seconds in which it had happened, the world seemed to stand still for Amy.

Then, the creature pulled his arm out of Sonic's chest and the blue blur fell backwards. That's when Amy came back to herself. She wouldn't accept Sonic falling to the ground like that, so she ran to him as fast as she could and caught him just before he hit it. He was a mess. His breathing was slow and shallow, he hardly seemed to be able to keep himself awake and the blood that was coming out of his mouth and his chest was everywhere. Tears welled up in Amy's eyes, while the feeling in her chest grew.

"Sonic …" Amy choked.

"Sheesh Amy", the injured hedgehog laughed weakly, "you always get me into the worst situations."

Those words struck her like the spear had struck Sonic. For a moment, it took her breath away. But what was even worse was how weak and broken Sonic's voice sounded. Seeing her strong and confident Sonic so helpless tore her heart apart. The tears were now starting to fall and Sonic's eyes locked on Amy when they hit his face. And again, the feeling in her chest grew.

"I'm sorry! I'm really, really sorry!" she whispered.

"Hey, don't cry", the blur smiled and wiped the tears from her face with his finger. "Look Ames, I want you to listen to me? Will you listen to me?"

Amy swallowed hard and nodded.

"You're strong, Ames, strong enough to get yourself out of this mess. Just … think of yourself and flee, okay? I'll be fine."

He wouldn't be fine, she knew that. If she left him here, he would die and there was no doubt about it.

"Sonic! SONIC!" Amy panicked when the blur started getting unconscious. "No, no, no! Stay with me, you hear me? Sonic, stay here!"

She slapped his cheek, cried and yelled to him to keep him with her, but it was of no use. He soon was completely out of it. This time, she realized the growing sensation in her chest and was reminded of her very first lesson with the magician.

_~Flashback~_

"_I know you have a lot of questions, so just start asking them." Violett said as sat down on the floor of the training hall._

_Amy mimicked her, but couldn't follow her orders. She had so many questions that she had no clue where to start. She thought for a while until one question rose above all other and before she knew it, she had already asked it._

"_Why did you do all that?"_

"_Ah, that's a good question to start with and the answer is simple; I did it so that you would know that you posses magic."_

_Magic? Her? That completely caught her of guard. All night long she had been roaming around in bed, trying to see the sense in Violett's test. But since this entire thing had happened in her head, she would never have thought that it was magic that she had used … if she had used it._

"_But couldn't you have just told me? And why did you only do it now? Why didn't you test me or tell me before those black shadowy creatures attacked? I could've been of so much more help!"_

"_I could have told you, yes. But then you wouldn't have been able to understand what it means to posses magic and that is a very important thing. If people know something without understanding it, they often cause trouble. They make use of the knowledge, but the fact that they don't understand it makes them use it wrongly and that is often a big problem. That should answer all three questions."_

"_It doesn't. It only answers the first."_

"_Does it? Tell me Amy, what reason did you give me when I asked you why I should train you?"_

_That was easy. "That I wanted to be worthy of Sonic and that I could keep up with him."_

"_Is that still why you want me to train you?"_

_Amy thought hard. The whole scenario from yesterday must have taught her something, but what was it? What was the reason she wanted Violett to train her? She thought of how he had taken the beating for her and how he had suffered. Yet, he had still tried to stay strong just so that she wouldn't worry about him. That idiot; she would never stop worrying about him. But that was all she had been able to do. And suddenly, she had the answer._

"_I want you to train me so that I can help and protect Sonic when he needs me. And not just Sonic, but all the others as well. I can see them growing stronger and stronger everyday and at some point, they will get into a situation that is too much for them to handle and then I won't be able to do anything to help. Just thinking of Sonic getting hurt …"_

_Violett smiled and Amy knew immediately that she had said the right thing. _

"_Amy, do you know when a person's true strength comes to light?"_

_Yes, she did. She had read so many romantic novels that the answer to this was a piece of cake. _

"_When they want to protect somebody important to them", she said and then it hit her._

_That weird light and those weird feelings, they had emerged when she had thought of nothing but of her wish to help the blue blur. The stronger that wish got, the stronger that feeling inside her rose and when she thought that she couldn't bear it anymore, the magic came to light. Yet, there was one question that was still on her mind, though she wasn't sure if she should already ask it. _

"_I see you understand. But what you should also understand is that the powerful feelings of wanting to protect someone emerges from love. The deeper and the more you love a person, the more you will want to protect them."_

"_But why now? Why couldn't I use magic before?"_

"_Oh, I'm sure you did, you just didn't notice. Didn't it ever happen that something inside you told you to do or not to do something? Or maybe that something told you that something will or will not happen soon."_

_Again, Amy thought for a while. Soon, the first example came to her mind, then a ton others._

"_Yeah, that really did happen. Remember the day I first met you? I actually wanted to go look for Sonic, but something told me to stay home. Do you mean that this is magic?"_

"_Almost. It's called intuition and I'm sure you've heard of it before."_

_Amy nodded._

"_You see, people who posses magical energy, mana as we call it, have a very strong intuition because the mana influences it. They can foretell things to such a precise grade that some people might think that they have seeing powers. Sadly, my intuition isn't that strong. For a mage, my intuition is actually quite bad."_

"_So, since I have magic, does that mean I'm a mage as well?"_

_Violett suddenly looked at the pink hedgehog very seriously and Amy had to suppress a shiver._

"_No Amy, you are not a mage. You're magic is a very special kind of magic. And people with magic like yours are called the Purehearted."_

"_The Purehearted?"_

"_That's right. Try imagining a few pieces of small coal. That is what the heart of an average person looks like, whatever creature that person might be. Now imagine a huge diamond. That is what the heart of a Purehearted looks like. They have hearts so big and so pure that they can love absolutely everything and everybody. And they have lots and lots of this love, more even than a sun has energy to shine with. The feelings that you are able to feel with this amount of love and the pureness that you feel it with can go beyond any other feeling in this world. But such people are very rare. In fact, they are so rare that I wouldn't be surprised if you were the only living one in this entire Zone."_

_Amy gulped. It was kind of hard to imagine that she was that special a person._

"_And what kind of magic do Purehearted have?" she asked shyly, overwhelmed by this information._

"_That's what I want to find out with you. The power of a Purehearted depends on the person's character and the situation they're in when they use their magic. It differs from person to person and situation to situation, so there's no telling what kind of things you can accomplish. Just take the situation that I showed you in your head. What you did was no less than to vaporize the ranks that imprisoned you. But you could have also set them on fire, you could have blasted them, make them become smaller. Or you could have just saved Sonic himself by vaporizing the enemy's army or something similar to that. In that case, I would have let you pass as well._

"_But before we start finding out just what you can do, there is one more thing I want you to understand. You've already understood that your magic shows itself when you wish to protect somebody becomes overwhelmingly strong, right?"_

_Again, Amy nodded._

"_Now, what I want you to know is that, unlike most people with magical powers, you have no limits to your powers. It depends on you and the strength of your will to protect. Do you understand what that means?"_

_She did. It meant that, the stronger her wish to protect Sonic is, the stronger she gets. The only limits were the strength of her own will and if that didn't have a limit, then neither did the power she would wield. And since she was able to love deeper and brighter than anyone else in this Zone, her power would be very strong. But with strength comes responsibility. If that power ever got out of hand then who knows what might happen._

"_Very good. Now, what I will do with you is to train your physical abilities, meaning that I will train you in material arts and such, I will train summoning and controlling your powers with you and I will let you combine both. But first, I will find out what you can already do."_

_Violett stood up and so did Amy. However, with no instructions on what to do, she could only stand there and watch as her trainer turned her back on her and walked to the other side of the wall. But she suddenly stopped, stood frozen in place for a few seconds and then turned back to Amy with a frown on her face._

"_You know what?" the mage asked. "I won't start like that. I will find out how good you are with magic, then I will show you how to use the help of your hammer to summon it and then I work on the first attack with you. Bring out your hammer. It'll help you concentrate."_

_Amy did as she was told. She stretched out her hand and the oversized hammer appeared in it, just as it always did. But the cheerful female still had questions._

"_How will my hammer help me?"_

"_It'll help you focusing your magic on a certain spot, only that way can you make use of it. Focusing it on something that isn't part of your body is a lot easier. That's why I always carry that ring around my neck. It's the object that I use to focus my magic on. Every mage has something like that."_

"_But … why do you transform your ring every now and then when you use magic?"_

_For the very first time since Amy knew her, Violett hesitated._

"_Ask that question another time", she finally said. "This training session is about you, not about me."_

_Amy was okay with that. Getting more powerful was all on her mind, although she still hadn't completely swallowed everything that Violett had just told her about herself. Yet, another question came into her mind._

"_Why did you change your mind so suddenly?"_

_A mysterious smile found its way to Violett's lips._

"_Intuition"._

_~End Flashback~_

Sonic was unconscious and his breathing was getting flatter and flatter. Looking at him, Amy made a decision. Carefully, she put him down on the floor and stood up, standing right above him and showing everyone who might see her that she would protect him with her life. The feeling in her chest was now so intense that the hedgehog thought she would have to burst. Though, she also knew that this is feeling is exactly what she needed to save Sonic.

Once Violett had found out about how Amy's magic was working, the two of them worked on an attack, just as the mage had told her. But so far, they had only done it in theory. Violett had showed Amy how to summon her powers, but Amy needed the feeling of wanting to protect somebody or something close to her to call upon it. Controlling her mana had been easy, summoning it not so much. Not once had she been able to summon enough strength to actually launch the attack they had been training on. But she would have to do it now or she and Sonic would die.

"Please" she whispered as she shut her hands tightly and held the hammer in front of her with both her hands.

She didn't know whom she was praying to. It might have been Aurora and it just as might well have been Chaos. It didn't matter to her as long as she would be able to save Sonic.

"Please … let this be enough. Let me succeed. Let me save Sonic."

That feeling that had been growing in her chest was the magic that was dying to come to light, Amy had realized that much. She concentrated on it and summoned all the power she could get. Had she opened her eyes, she would have seen that she was starting to glow bright pink and the more power she summoned, the more intense she glowed. Then she started focusing it all on the hammer. It was a lot harder than it had been in class and she had to put all her concentration into it. Slowly but surely, the glow on Amy's body started fading and the glow on the hammer got brighter.

And then she jumped. Never releasing the focus on her hammer, Amy jumped as high as she could and held the hammer above her, only to slam it on the ground with all her strength when she came back down. And that hit released all of the magic that was focused on the hammer.

Out of it came semicircles of bright pink light that kept getting bigger. Every single one of those shadow monster creatures that came in touch with them vaporized, just like the ranks that had held Amy had. Although the semicircles got weaker the bigger they got, they filled the entire are they were trapped in and the hundreds of creatures that had been attacking them were soon gone and there wasn't a thing that they could have done about it. The only ones that were not affected by that attack were her and Sonic.

The female stayed where she was, not daring to move a muscle. Only when about a minute faded and no more of those shadowy creatures came did she allow herself to relax. Her knees buckled and she fell to the ground. Never before in her life had she felt so drained. She was hungry and tired and wished for nothing more but to fall sleep right there.

But she couldn't, not as long as she was still on Eggman's ship. And Sonic was still injured, too. She would have to bring him back to the ship as fast as she could if she wanted him to survive. Summoning all the strength she still had left, Amy stood up and walked back to Sonic. His chest was still bleeding and there was still blood coming from his mouth. Determined to save him, she ripped the bottom of her dress apart and used the material to tie up the blue's wound. Then, she heaved him on her back and stormed out of the hall. She would save him, no matter what!


	25. Lupa's story

**Sonic the hedgehog nor any of its characters belong to me.**

Lupa's story

"WHERE IS SHE?" Knuckles stormed into the hall. "WHERE IS THAT WITCH? I'M GONNA KILL HER! I'M GONA TEAR HER APART!"

Surprisingly, Rouge, who would always bring the hotheaded Echidna back down to earth, looked just as enraged as he was. Behind them, Espio was leaning against the wall, breathing heavily and holding his side. But he looked pretty mad as well.

"So, you managed to help them?" Tails asked and Espio nodded

"Yo Knux, shoulnd't ya treat your wounds first? Violett aint here yet, so there aint anything you can do!"

The three of them had thought that Violett would have returned to the ship by now, since she always seemed to be ahead of everybody else. Seeing Vector and Charmy already back was a bit surprising.

"Who's he?" Rouge asked when she saw the frightened little dove hiding behind Vector's legs.

But she froze when she looked at him and so did Knuckles. They took a few steps back and started shaking. The kid had piercing, blood-red eyes, just like Lupa.

"A new friend", Charmy flew around the boy, happy to finally be back in their own ship.

"He was a prisoner on the ship, so we took him with us." Vector shrugged. "Poor boy's frightened outta his wits."

Rouge wanted to open her mouth to say something, but before a sound came out, two other creatures came into the room. Violett and Blaze were both dripping wet and seemed to be at the end of their nerves.

"YOU!" Knuckles cried in rage. "YOU KNEW ABOUT HER, ABOUT THAT … THAT DEVIL!"

"You met Lupa?"

"YOU SHOULD HAVE TOLD US! LOOK WHAT SHE DID TO US! IF IT WASN'T FOR ESPIO, WE WOULD BE DEAD BY NOW! DO YOU GET IT? THAT WOMAN; SHE SERIOUSLY TRIED TO KILL US!"

"Had she been serious, you would already be dead."

"HOW CAN YOU PUT US IN SUCH DANGER?" Rouge helped out. "IF YOU KNEW SHE WOULD KILL US, WHY DIDN'T YOU WARN US?"

"SHUT UP!"

Blaze's voice was even louder than Knuckles' and the brightness of her flames filled the entire room. They came from her body and danced around without touching any of the others. But the heat was almost painful and Cream and the dove almost fainted. When the show was over, nobody dared to move another muscle until the enraged cat calmed down.

But before she could even open her mouth, two more people entered the room and every eye was locked on them. Amy was walking in, with the unconscious Sonic on her back. The wound hadn't closed and was bleeding so heavily that Amy's already torn clothes were filled with blood.

"Help …" Amy choked. "Sonic …"

Her knees gave way and she fell to the floor. Completely exhausted, she let Sonic fall, he rolled on his back and everybody saw what had happened to him. They saw how spots of red were all over his fur, coming from the huge amount of blood on his chest and his back and how his muscles, how weak he was hanging there in Amy's arms, how blood was even running out of his mouth.

"Oh my gosh …" Blaze gasped and everybody agreed silently.

The first one who caught himself was Tails and he screamed orders to everyone around. Vector took Sonic and brought him to the medical room and everybody followed. They brought Amy, who knew more about medicine then everybody else everything she needed and soon after, Sonic's chest was completely bandaged and blood stopped coming out of his mouth. But Amy was completely exhausted and was about to collapse. Yet, she stayed awake for what was about to come.

"That's it!" Rouge said and glared at the magician. "No more open questions. You owe us explanations. Because of you, Sonic might DIE!"

When she heard that, little Cream got scared and grabbed her mother's skirt.

"No …." Amy said weakly. "It's thanks to her Sonic's still alive."

Everybody looked at her. Of everybody in the team, Amy was the last one they expected to be on Violett's side. The fact that she was supporting her was shocking for everybody. Together with Blaze, she stood next to the purple hedgehog to support her. But something even more surprising happened.

"Very well", Violett said. "I will tell you everything you need to know. I'll start with the reason I never told you about Lupa before."

And she told them what she had told Blaze back in the ship; how Lupa loved playing games with her prey and how the only chances of escaping them were if you knew nothing about Lupa or if you had so much experience with her games that you figured out the rules fast enough to win.

"Now, before I answer the rest of your questions, there's something else that you need to know."

Nobody heard the flaw in these words, so eager where they to hear what the mage had to say. She took the ring from her neck and put it on her finger. For a second, she closed her eyes and the scenery around them changed. They stood in the middle of space and looked around nervously. Only Blaze and Violett herself seemed calm.

"Don't worry, this is only an illusion. As Blaze, Claws and I have told you, this Zone exists of thirteen dimensions. What you don't know yet is that we can enter only twelve of them, because the last one belongs to the dead. Only spirits whose bodies have died can enter that world. That last dimension is what you might call heaven or hell. Have you understood that so far?"

Everybody nodded.

"What we also haven't told you is that there is a kind of wall between the dimensions. Some of you might know this already. Tails told me that he did before we left. Those walls keep the dimensions apart and are incredibly strong. The strongest technology can only open a hole if there is a weak spot in that wall. They appear every now and then. However, very few types of magic can create a hole for a short amount of time without harming it in any way. The strongest of the walls is the one to the thirteenths dimension. It has absolutely no weak spots and no magic in this entire Zone can open a hole without breaking it apart completely. Did everyone understand that?"

"But what does this have to do with that wolf in the ship" Rouge asked.

"Just listen. It'll all come together in the end." Blaze snapped.

"Then I'll go on with what happens when people die. You see, there are three stages of death; the first one is when the heart stops beating, but the brain is still functioning. The body is dead, but the soul is still trapped in it. Any hospital can bring a person back to life in that stage. The next one happens about a half an hour after the heart stopped pounding, when so much of the brain has died away that the person is unable to live, even if he started breathing again. That's when the soul leaves the body. Usually, it stays within the twelve dimensions that we can enter until the brain of the body is completely dead. In that stage, only magic can bind the soul back to his body and revive the brain. But magic like that is extremely powerful and rare and I've never met anybody who has the ability to do so.

"The third stage is the ultimate death; it's when the soul departs for the thirteenth dimension. Once it's entered it, it cannot be brought back without causing a catastrophe. As said, souls usually go to the thirteenth dimension when the brain shows no more activity, but if there is still something that bothers a soul, an unfulfilled task or something similar, they stick around as ghosts until whatever is bothering them has disappeared. So far, so good?"

The rest of the team looked at each other, but since no one asked ay questions, Violett went on.

"Many millenias ago, the universes and the walls were unstable, except of course for the thirteenth. People feared that they would collapse and destroy this Zone entirely. So the three eldest and most powerful mages and their partners went to the kingdom of the dragons, who were already old and powerful back then and still are and asked them for the twelve items that represented the king's and the queen's reign. A few items for a prince and a princess were also in there."

As she said this, a female and a male dragon appeared in the universe and around them appeared twelve items; a huge crown, the heavy looking tiara that Violett had used to create a hole to the next dimension, a delicate diadem, a mighty scepter, the necklace that Blaze always wore, an expensive looking ring, a brooch with a ruby on it, the sword of Acorns, a beautiful golden arch with arrows, a little something that looked like a golden compass, a rather small specimen of these horns that you blew into and a dagger.

"The king and the queen listened to the mages and gave them the objects that you can see here. The mages took them and gave each one of them something that would give the objects very special powers. I only know of three things, which were the essence of a dimension, the essence of the wall to that dimension and the essence of the Master Oracle, the eldest of all Oracles. The objects received a lot of power and from then on, stabilized the dimensions and the walls between them. Only the thirteenth didn't have an object, since nobody could enter it.

"But soon, people who were hungering for power heard of these objects and the power they had and the four mages were forced to protect them as good as they could. So they gave the crown back to the family of dragons and bonded it with the bloodline, so that only chosen members of that family could use it, or a descendant of one of the mages. They also did this with two other very old reigns and their families. As soon as another reign reached a certain age and a certain amount of power, the mages and their descendants bonded an object with the reigning family's bloodline. Soon, all twelve objects were given to families and the dragons, who are very just and very wise, keep a list of all the kingdoms in this Zone and make sure that only the twelve eldest and most powerful ones have such an object."

This time, twelve creatures appeared in the galaxy together with their item; a dragon with the crown, a hedgehog with the tiara, a griffin with the diadem, a deer with the scepter, a cat with the necklace, an eagle with the ring, a bat with the brooch, a squirrel with the sword, a monkey with the arch, an iguana with the compass, a shark with the horn and a lion with a dagger.

The others all looked at the faces in awe. They knew now how old, mighty and powerful Blaze's and Sally's family really were and they had new respect to them, especially since the necklace and the Sword of Acorns have chosen the two to be their bearer. Blaze might know what responsibility she had, but did Sally? Suddenly, the story that Sonic had told Amy, Tails and Knuckles about Violett's behavior back in the castle made sense.

"Legend also says that those mages put a guardian for the dimensional items, so that their true power can only be used when all twelve of them are together. But uniting them is an act that needs an incredible amount of mana and it would kill most mages. However, when you do summon the guardian, he will be able to grant you any wish, whatever it might be.

"Now we get to our enemy. Rouge and Knuckles have already met her; she's a wolf named Lupa and just like me, her ancestors helped with the dimensional items. But perhaps I should start from the very beginning."

The universe disappeared and they stood in the lobby again. Some sat down, others kept standing, the rest didn't' quite know what to do.

"You see, Lupa's family is the oldest and most powerful family of mages in this entire Zone. There is no mage who can keep up with them. But unlike most of the most powerful families of mages, the mages of Lupa's family often cause trouble for the Zones, so they keep many things that my teachers taught me in secret. Only the eldest and wisest are allowed to know about the Zone's and the dimensional items, so for a long time, Lupa didn't know about that.

"When Lupa was but a child, the grownups around her soon saw her talent and saw her as a prodigy, even for one of their family. They trained her and were astounded at how fast she managed to control the flow of her mana, something that is very difficult for every mage to do. But she had always been a lonely child, because her red eyes and white hair scared the children. Red eyes aren't very often seen under the wolves and white hair even less.

When she was about 15 years old, Lupa went to a family reunion and meet Ira, an albino wolf. As you can imagine, he too didn't have a very easy childhood, but he had dreams; big dreams. He wanted to bring all twelve dimensions under his reign and bring peace to them that way. Lupa was immediately captivated by that idea and promised Ira to stay by his side and help him. Ira had been a prodigy; not in the flow of mana, like Lupa, but in the amount of magic he had. The two together were a dangerous pair and soon, when all of us were only little kids, a war erupted. Ira and Lupa were taking over one planet after another on more than just one dimension and many mages got together to stop the two of them. My mentor, Pythia, was amongst them as well.

"But Lupa and Ira couldn't be stopped, until the day that the two became a bit too sure of themselves. They stood at the top of a battle and looked at it from somewhere beyond. And Ira thought it was the best opportunity to propose to Lupa and so he did . And while the two were being happy with each other, another mage came from behind and threw a dagger filled with magic towards Lupa. But Ira saw it, turned his fiancée around and took the hit. The magic exploded and destroyed him from the inside.

"Lupa reacted fast and brought Ira away from the battlefield, where she tried her very best to treat him. She didn't make it. A few hours later, Ira died. Lupa had lost the only person in the world who had treated her like a living thing and had given her love."

Everybody was quiet. Rouge and Knuckles remembered the crazy look they had seen in the wolf's eye and could no longer feel fear … only pity.

"After that, Lupa disappeared and the war ended. Nobody knew where she went and nobody searched for her either. Some said that she had died of a broken heart. But as you clearly saw today, that is not the case. Lupa had been researching about magic until she finally found something that might bring her beloved Ira back; the dimensional items' guardian. If she would manage to find all twelve dimensional items and bring out the guardian, then she would be able to bring Ira back, no matter if he left for the thirteenth dimension or not."

"But why are we trying to stop her? Trying to bring back someone you love … that can't be a bad thing", Tails said and Violett saw how a tiny bit of hope came into Tails eyes.

"Because years have passed ever since Ira died and the chances that he hasn't left for the thirteenth dimension yet are too big to take the risk. And even though the guardian might have the power to summon a spirit from the thirteenth dimension, the wall would still break apart and the two universes would collide. That would cause the dimensional items to overpower themselves, they would break and the disruption in balance would cause the other walls to break apart as well. All thirteen dimensions would collide, this entire Zone would collapse and all life would end. And since there would no longer be a thirteenth dimension to go to, we would all be doomed to reside as ghosts in the shatters of the broken Zone."

That hit like a bomb. So far, the group had stopped worlds from becoming ruled by a dictator, from being destroyed completely and had stopped the galaxy from being turned into a galaxy where only plants could live. This mission was taking place in an entirely different dimension and right at the moment, nobody was sure if they would be able to take on such a burden. At least none of those who were conscious right now …

**Can you imagine how long it took to think up such a plot? I definitely wanted an foe as a character that was dangerous, but had a reason for what she did. I wanted one that knew what it meant to suffer and that would be able to take on Violett no problem without seeming overpowered. And that three stages of death system is gonna be very important later on.**

**Well, at least now you know what Sonic and co. are up against.**


	26. Recovery

**I do not own Sonic the hedgehog, nor any of its characters. All rights belong to Sega!**

**Recovery  
**

Amy's knees gave way and she fell to the floor, making the rest of the crew turn to her in worry. What was even worse was that she didn't seem to be able to keep herself up anymore. Whenever she tried, she would just fall back down again.

"You okay, hun?" Rouge asked concerned and helped the hedgehog up.

"No, she's not." Violett cut in. "From what I felt back in the ship, she's used up so much magic that any ordinary mage would've died just through trying to summon it."

"Magic?" The others all asked shocked. "You can use magic?"

"Well … yes, but …"

Chaos! Everybody tried to get information out of the exhausted hedgehog, but were asking new questions before she could even answer the first ones. Amy's head was spinning, she could hardly keep herself awake anymore. But she couldn't fall asleep. Who would take care of Sonic if she was out of it?

"That's enough", Blaze said loudly and everybody stood still, now knowing what she was able to do.

"Amy needs every piece of rest she can get now. She should go to sleep before she falls into unconsciousness." Violett added.

"No", Amy said weakly. "I can't. I have to take care of Sonic."

"If you don't go to sleep now, you'll collapse entirely and I don't know how long you'll be out of it once you do. It's safe to go to sleep, then you'll wake up naturally."

"Can I eat something first?"

"No!"

For a few seconds there was silence as the two female hedgehogs glared at each other and since Violett was strong and Amy stubborn, nobody thought that there would be an end anytime soon. But then Amy had another attack of faintness and knew that it was time to give in.

"Fine, I'll do what you say. But I want to stay by Sonic's side. He needs me!"

"What Sonic needs is medical attention and what you need is rest! There's no way I'd …"

"She's right, Vi", Tails interrupted. "Sure, Sonic needs to be treated, but I know – we all know – that the one thing Sonic always needed the most was the support of his friends. I give every bet that he'll heal faster if we all stay by his side."

Violett looked at him in silence for a few seconds, her face unreadable. But Tails countered her gaze just as untouched. Nothing would ever make him back down when it came to his brother. Her eyes were cold and frightening and it took Tails a lot of self control not to step back. He thought of Sonic, thought of how weak and helpless he had looked when Amy had brought him in and he heated up like fire. It worked. The endless amount of determination in his eyes made Violett look away. For the first time since she got to meet Sonic, Violett lost a staring contest.

"You're the captain", she said coldly and walked away, obviously not amused by the fact that she lost this round.

"Okay, now that this is cleared", Rouge broke the silence after Violett was gone; "you're coming with me!"

"Yeah, right! In your dreams, bat!" Knuckles spat when he realized she had spoken to him.

Rouge looked at him untouched for a few seconds before she grabbed one of the echidna's dreads and pulled him away. Of course, Knuckles didn't even think of going freely. He fought and punched and kicked about, cussed and cursed and yelled his lungs out, but Rouge didn't even blink. She just pulled him with her, untouched by his protest. Her grip was strong the pull on his hair hurt terribly, so that Knuckles had no choice but to follow, whether he liked it or not.

She pulled the injured male all the way to her room. It was darkly lit, but very elegant. Without saying a single word, she sat Knuckles down on a chair, went into her bathroom to get a first aid kit, cotton, a towel and a bowl with water and came back into the room, where she kneeled down in front of the echidna. She took some cotton, poured a bit of Alcohol on it and pressed it on Knuckles' side. He inhaled sharply at the burning feeling this caused, but didn't say a word. Just like Rouge, he stayed silent.

Meanwhile, the bat took the towel, dunked it into the water and started cleaning off the blood that was on his side. There was a lot of it. Once it was all gone, Rouge was able to see just how deep the cut was. With that cut and all the others as well, Knuckles must have lost a huge amount of blood. He must have had one heck of a headache for a long time, if he wasn't already fighting with dizziness. And yet he was sitting there, pouting and acting like his usual self as if nothing happened. He was trying to be tough and Rouge couldn't help but to be impressed at how far he pushed himself.

The wound was clean and Rouge started bandaging it, tightly enough to be sure that the bleeding would stop.

"You're cutting off my breath, woman", the echidna hissed.

"My, aren't we sensitive?" Rouge grinned.

That made Knuckles shut up until Rouge finished with his side. Next she took care of his shoulders. The cut there wasn't as bad as the one on his side, but right now, Rouge couldn't help but worry. He was injured and she hadn't been able to help him. Lost in thoughts like these, she cleaned and bandaged the wound, not even hearing Knuckles grunts and protests. The one on his leg was last.

He had protected her. He had put himself in danger to make sure nothing happened to her. And what had she done? She had freaked out and had frozen and that was the entire reason he was in that state now. It was always like this. If they weren't bickering or fighting, he was protecting her from something. But this was the first time he had been injured this badly because of it. It was her fault. Knuckles saw her face and got worried himself. He didn't understand why she was so down.

"OW! For heaven's sake, can't you be a little more careful?" Knuckles cried frustrated.

Rouge got ticked off by that and pulled the bandage extra hard, making him cry out for the uptenth time. They glared for each other for quite a while, until the reason they were in this situation came back into her head. Her shoulders sacked and she looked back on Knuckles' leg, avoiding his glance.

"Amy must feel terrible." The bat said sadly.

"Why?" Knuckles asked, completely forgetting that he had just been angry.

"You got injured like this because you were protecting me and I feel terrible because I couldn't help you. Wherever Sonic and Amy were, Amy wasn't able to prevent Sonic from getting hurt, Sonic's injury is far worse than yours are and the two of them are much closer than you and me. If I already feel terrible, I don't even want to start thinking about how she must feel."

Silence …

"Thank you …" Rouge whispered, "… for protecting me. I'd be dead without you."

Knuckles eyes widened for a second. It was rare that Rouge would show any sign of sentimentality towards anybody, let alone him. The only time when she had showed sentimentality at all was on Arc when Shadow died and in the final battle against the Metorex when Shadow and Cosmo had sacrificed themselves to save them.

"Don't mention it", Knuckles said, looking away so that Rouge wouldn't see his blush.

="="

An Infusion was hanging over Sonic's bed and the needle was in his arm. A few cables were attached to his arm and two to his chest, close to his injury.

Sonic himself was as white as a ghost. When Amy touched his skin, she got worried that he might already be dead because he was so cold. Only his shallow breathing is what held her hopes up. He didn't even show any signs of fighting for his life. No sweating, no twitching, not even a slight groan. He was just laying there, completely motionless. Only his short breaths were loud and sounded as if he was heaving Asthma. Amy had to control herself not to twitch at every single breath he took and not to feel the pain it must cause him.

"Is he any better?" Amy asked the young kitsune sitting at the computer.

"That would be too good to be true", Tails answered. "His injury is serious and his heartbeat very unstable. He's fighting for every single second. We'll have to keep an eye on him to ensure his survival."

If Amy had more energy, she would have cried, but the way she was now, she could only sit there, hardly able to move. She watched as Cream, her soft, wonderful little Cream, was cleaning the blood on the blur's chest together with Cheese, keeping it clean. Not once did they shed a tear, not once did they show fear or any other emotions for that matter. They were being so wonderfully strong that Amy felt like a total weakling next to them. The tables had been turned around.

Vanilla was the one treating the wound. Her hands were just as sure and practiced as hers were, if not even better. It calmed her down a bit, knowing that Sonic was in good hands. She was sitting there, watching as Sonic's wound got cleaner and cleaner, looked better and better and got bandaged until nothing of it was visible under the bandages.

But Sonic himself didn't look better. His breathing still sounded painful, his skin was still cold and he was still as white as a ghost. When she looked at him, all tied up in bandages, she swore she wouldn't leave his side until he was better.

)§)§

The lights were still on. Vanilla and Cream were long gone. Sonic's wound had been cleaned and bandaged two times. Knuckles and Rouge had paid him a visit, so had the Chaotix. The only ones still there were Amy and Tails. Tails had fallen asleep over the keyboard of the computer. Amy had fallen asleep as well. She was sitting at the bed, her head resting on the edge of it. Her right hand was on his chest and the very tips of her fingers on the bandage.

Violett couldn't help but to smile at this. It was amazing how far her companions went for their hero. All the anger she had felt earlier for being beaten vaporized at the sight she saw. Of all the things she hated, loosing was definitely in her top ten.

Chuckling just a tiny bit, she walked to the other side of the room, where a chair was standing. She took it and walked to Sonic's head. She sat down at the very end of the bed and put the tip of her fingers on Sonic's temple. Then she closed her eyes and concentrated. She concentrated on the one thing only she would ever be able to feel.

Her fingers started glowing a bit. It was a warm glow, like the sun. Slowly the glow started taking direction and went into Sonic's head. That went on for a few minutes. A frown showed appeared on the purple hedgehog's face that got deeper and deeper the more time passed. Sweat started running down her face and her even breath turned into pants.

Then she tore her hands away and gasped for breath. Her fingers stopped glowing and she leaned back on her chair. There she stayed motionless for a few seconds, trying to catch her breath and to regain her strength. When that was done, she looked back at Sonic sadly and ran her hands over his forehead. He didn't look the tiniest bit better. His face didn't have more color, his breathing didn't sound any less painful and he still didn't move.

"This should give your body a bit of extra strength. I'm just sorry that this is the only thing I can do to help you."

She put the chair back where she got it from, went to one of the lockers and snatched two blankets from it. She put one over Amy and one over Tails. Then she went to the switch and turned out the lights. But she stopped dead in her tracks just before she left the room and turned around. There it was, only visible in the dark; a faint pink glow on Sonic's chest, coming from the tip of the fingers on Amy's right hand.

"No way", the magician whispered with eyes wide. "It can't be. Not after all that. There's just no way."

Amy was still using magic. She had fought an army of shadow warriors, had used an allround attack that used up so much mana that even she would have collapsed on the spot had she tried using it, had dragged Sonic all the way out of Lupa's ship and had kept herself on her feet all the way throughout the explanation about Lupa and was still using up whatever she had left to perform healing magic on Sonic, a kind of magic that took up more magic like none else did and she did it in her sleep. Where did she get all that strength from? Or was that usual for a purehearted? When saying that her strength came from her love; was that what it meant.

As if struck by thunder, Violett stood there, watching Amy's fingers glow in the dark. Then she turned on her heels and ran out of the room as if she'd seen a ghost.

**And the next chapter is done. Well, what do you think? Will Amy's treatment be successful? Or is it all futile? Oh, I absolutely love torturing Sonic. And if you think that's bad, then keep on reading; it'll get a lot worse. Poor Amy and Tails are at the end of their nerves.**

**And one more thing; I HAVE OFFICIALLY WRITTEN MY VERY FIRST KNOUGE MOMENT! All those Knouge fans out there, keep reading. There's more to come. But something even more important comes first. Wanna guess?**

**And yush, the first signs of the team gaining enough strength to oppose Violett have appeared. From here on, they'll be getting stronger and stronger. Strong enough to defeat Lupa and Eggman? Who knows …**

**Feel free to review. I would be very happy if you did ^^**


	27. Amy's decision

**I do not own Sonic the hedgehog nor any of its characters. Only Violett and the storyline belong to me. Oh, and Lupa too of course.**

**Amy's decision**

Amy groaned when she woke up, but didn't dare opening her eyes. Sure, there was no night and day in space, but everybody kept their rhythm as good as they could. It would be morning on Mobius right now. Yesterday had been a long day. Or maybe it hadn't. The reason Amy didn't dare opening her eyes, was she hoped for her life that yesterday had been a dream, a terrible nightmare.

They hadn't really been caught in Eggman's spaceship. The group hadn't really been separated. They hadn't really fought against a gazillion of those weird shadowy creatures. Sonic hadn't really taken the blow for her. He wasn't really in danger of losing his life.

Amy opened her eyes. She was on the hospital room, at Sonic's bed. His chest was put in bandages. Yesterday hadn't been a dream. Tears welled up in the female's eyes and she buried her face in her arms. Sonic's life was in danger and it was because of her. Because she hadn't been fast enough, not strong enough. She was a burden to Sonic, to the entire team. She sat up and the felt something slid off her back. As she turned around, she saw a blanket. When did she get a blanket? Did she get one at all?

A quiet groan caught her attention and she looked back at Sonic. It came from him. He was panting heavily, was covered in sweat and a grimace was on his face from the pain. His bandage was already red again, although it wasn't as bad as the first three bandages had been. Amy stood rapidly and took a few steps back, only to fall backwards on her butt. Her strength hadn't returned yet. In fact, she felt even more drained then the day before.

"Tails …" Amy said and looked around.

She found him sleeping quietly at the computer. One of the last things she remembered was the sound of him typing. He must have fallen asleep while working, long after she had. She crawled to him and shook him until he stirred.

"Whassamatter?" he asked groggily.

"Tails", Amy choked under tears. "Sonic …"

Tails was awake immediately and jumped out of his chair. In panic, he ran to Sonic to check on him. He felt his pulse, checked in temperature and then shook his head, asking himself why he was doing that and ran back to the computer. There he checked all that again and more. Then he leaned back in his seat and ran his hands through his fur.

"What's the matter? Is he okay? Please tell me he's okay Tails, please!" Amy pleaded.

"That's unreal", he muttered. "That's too much, even for Sonic."

"What's wrong? What's happening to him?"

"He's … recovering … fast …"

"He's recovering?" A small hopeful smile made its way on Amy's face. "He'll get better. He'll survive."

"But he's gotten better so fast that it's not normal anymore. Just a few hours ago, he was on the verge of death and now he already has enough strength to fight infections, to move, to sweat. He's not over the hill yet, but …"

Tails looked at his feet, not sure if he should be worried or relieved. A small, almost silent groan made him look back at the female. She was definitely relieved, but she didn't look good. The color of her fur was dull, she was almost as white as Sonic and there were huge bags under her eyes. If she had looked bad yesterday, she looked even worse now.

"Amy, you should go lie down again. You look worse than Sonic." Tails said.

"But she will not stay with him", a new voice came in.

The two friends looked at the entry to the room and saw Violett, gazing at Amy with something that hadn't been there before; awe. Worry was also there.

"Why not?" Amy asked.

"I was here yesterday. I gave Sonic some of my own life energy so that he would have some strength to heal his injury. When I turned out the lights, I saw something that shouldn't be possible. You were healing him, Amy."

Tails and Amy looked at the magician perplexed. But since they didn't ask any questions, Violett went on talking on her own.

"That's the reason you're so drained now. Healing takes a huge amount of mana, probably more than any other kind of magic. Next to that, it's extremely complex, because every person needs his own special treatment, otherwise he'll end up only more damaged. You used up so much mana and energy yesterday and you gave everything you gained while sleeping and more to heal Sonic. You did it successfully and you even did it in your sleep. But as impressive as that is, it also shows that you have no control over it"

There was silence for a few seconds, which was the time Amy and Tails needed to suck that up.

"I … I am the reason Sonic's better?" Amy asked in disbelief.

"Yes, but if you go on like that, you'll worry yourself to death. Literally! And I can tell you that you won't be of any use once you're dead."

The pink hedgehog looked at Violett first, then at Sonic and then at the floor, suddenly very interested in its color.

"It's not like I've been of a lot use up until now", she whispered.

"Are you kidding?" Tails cried out. "You're the entire reason Sonic's still alive. If it weren't for you, he would slowly be wasting away in a corner of Lupa's ship."

Amy opened her mouth to say something, but thought different of it and smiled sweetly, but sadly at Tails instead. But when she looked back at Sonic, that smile vanished and tears welled up again.

"Tails is right, Amy. Thanks to you, he's a lot better. Now go eat something and then go to your room and sleep."

Amy stayed where she was, looking at Sonic worriedly. It was obvious she didn't quite know what to do. She decided to leave the decision up to Tails and looked at him questioning.

"Do what she says, Amy. Sonic won't be on his own. And I'm sure you'll be able to help a lot more once you got your strength back up."

In a sudden impulse, she threw her arms around the young fox. He almost fell on his back from the sudden weight, but wrapped his arms around her anyways. He needed this hug as much as she did. But Tails eyes widened in the middle of the hug and his arms fell to his side.

Then Amy stood up shakily, stole one last glance at the injured hedgehog and left the room, leaving the magician and a very perplexed two-tailed fox behind.

$)$

"Since everybody is present, I hereby pronounce that this discussion is officially opened", Blaze said calmly.

Since she was a princess and had more experience with formalities and discussions than anybody else, she had been chosen to be the speaker of the team's very first real discussion round. The entire team, except for Sonic, Amy and the little dove, was sitting at the dining table, with Blaze at the very top of it.

"Is all this formal crud really necessary?" Knuckles grumbled.

"Just deal with it", Rouge said.

"We have a few topics to discuss", Blaze went on, pretending not to have heard the interruption. "The first one is what we are going to do about the little boy Charmy and Vector found in Eggman's ship. Vector, if you'd please?"

The croc stood up and cleared his throat. "We found da boy in da dungeons of da ship. He seems frightened and refuses to talk. Because of that, we aint sure what to do with him or how ta treat him."

"I have a solution to that", Tails said and stood up. "We should let Cream and Cheese handle him."

Named rabbit let her shoulders sack. "Us?" She asked dumbfounded

"You have the gentlest soul here. If there's anybody who can win his trust, it's you. Besides, you're probably in the same age. It's easier for someone to trust a person who is as old as they are then someone who's older."

Cream didn't reply. She just looked at the just as perplexed Chao in her lap with a small blush on her cheeks.

"Well Cream?" the princess asked. "Are you up to it?"

The little rabbit looked at Blaze, then at her mother who was sitting next to her, then to Violett, to Tails and back at her hands. A small, embarrassed smile appeared on her face and she nodded, her cheeks even redder than before.

"Cheese?"

"Chao!" Cheese answered.

"Any objections?" Blaze asked into the round. When everybody shook their heads, she went on. "Then we'll move on. You all know what we're up against, now. Lupa is a dangerous enemy and she wouldn't hesitate to kill us all in the blink on an eye. However, you also know what is at stake if we don't manage to stop her."

Murmurs started on every end until Violett stood up.

"Unlike me, Lupa will use the power of the dimensional items she gathers, which means that she will get stronger the more of them she lays her hands on. Our biggest chance was Sonic, but as you all know, his injury is big and we don't know how long it will take for him to recover. That means that the next time we meet her, she might be stronger, Sonic might not have recovered yet and she might not be in the mood to play games. This mission is the most dangerous you have been to, so I would understand if you don't feel up to it."

"ARE YOU KIDDING?" Knuckles yelled and stood up as well. "Look at this! And this!"

He pointed at his side, where Rouge had bandaged him up. There was already a bit of red there, but it wasn't much and it wasn't disbanding, which meant that the bat had done a good job. Next he pointed at his shoulder, where the bleeding had stopped completely. Everybody knew that something similar could be seen on his leg.

"See what that witch did to me? And she was only playing with me! She almost killed Rouge back there. If she were to fulfill her wish, then we would all die, no matter if we're back on Mobius or here in space. But I have the chance to decide to fight! I decide that I will do whatever I can from preventing something like this from ever happening again. And if I really should die, then I will be able to die in piece, knowing that I did everything in my might to protect what's important to me!"

There was a long silence after that, but the smiles that were seen in the round were proof that Knuckles' flaming talk had infected the entire crew. No more words needed to be said. They would all fight in order to protect what's most important to them. Nobody would run back home with their tails between their legs. And if protecting meant having to die, then so be it. They were ready.

"Who knew you could give such thrilling speeches?" Rouge purred, making Knuckles blush and sit back down again hastily.

"We'll take a detour anyways", Tails interrupted the moment. "We have to bring Amy home. She wants to leave the team."

There was another silence, but this time not a single smile could be found. They all stared at the kitsune in shock, not quite able to comprehend what Tails had just said.

"What do you mean?" Blaze asked with narrowed eyes.

"I mean what I said. Amy asked me to bring her back to Mobius. She says that she doesn't want to fight anymore. She's tired of all this."

"That's idiotic!" Knuckles said slamming his fist on the table, but flinching shortly afterwards in the pain the movement caused for his shoulder.

"Mr. Knuckles is right", Cream spoke up. "Amy would never leave us. She would never leave Sonic, especially now that he's so weak and injured. She would do anything she could to make sure he's safe, to make sure that we're all safe. That's just the way she is."

At these words, Violett's eyes widened. She opened her mouth to say something, but decided against it and closed it again. Luckily, everybody was busy agreeing with Cream, so nobody paid attention to her.

"Maybe Lupa somehow brainwashed her", Espio thought out loud.

"Or maybe she's sick. Did anybody check her temperature lately?" Vanilla suggested.

"Maybe Sonic's condition is such a strain to her that she can't think straight", Rouge commented.

"I agree with the brainwashing theory", Knuckles said.

"Oh please, it's obvious that Rouge has the only logical theory", Blaze snapped.

"But Ms. Blaze, nothing could ever tear Amy away from Sonic. The only thing that could really confuse her is an illness."

"You're all wrong", the magician interrupted the 'conversation'. "You're looking at this from the wrong side. Think about it from this point of view; what is Amy's biggest fear?"

"That Sonic'll marry someone else than her?" Knuckles suggested.

"It must be for Sonic to be injured", Blaze guessed.

"Almost", the mage said. "Her worse fear is to be a burden to Sonic, to us all. Not being able to help us, feeling like she's holding us all back; that's her biggest fear. And right now, she's experiencing that fear."

"She feels like it's her fault that Sonic got injured so badly, doesn't she?" Rouge asked sadly. "Yeah, I know what that feels like."

"But that's not a reason for her to leave!" Tails cried.

"It is", Violett said calmly. "She wants to leave in order to protect us all. I give every bet that she thinks we'll all be safer if she isn't here to hold us back."

"That's stupid! Crazy! Brainless!" the echidna yelled.

"Try saying that to Amy. You know how stubborn she can get, especially if it revolves around Sonic." The kitsune sighed.

After him, everybody else sighed. Talking to the stubborn female would be no use. She wouldn't listen to any of them. And maybe, just maybe, bringing her back to Mobius was the best for her as well. If something similar would happen again – and the chances for that were high – then she might just break, just like she was on the verge of breaking now.

"Bring her back", Cream whispered, breaking the depressed silence. "Amy will be sadder if she stays here. I don't want Amy to be sad, so please bring her back."

"Then it's decided", Blaze said when nobody else answered. "Our next course will be Mobius. And once we're there, we'll have one teammate less."

**Yap yap yap, things still stay interesting. Sonic's starting to feel better, but Amy's at the end of her nerves. Sonic has to wake up and smack some sense into her fast. And Tails and Amy are starting to get really close as well. Sonic's suffering binds the two together.**

**And YAY FOR KNUCKLES! I never knew he could be so thrilling. Did you?**

**Say, have you noticed it? Violett is no longer in the spotlight. Her importance has decreased now that the team knows about most of the important stuff. Amy will be in the spotlight for a while now. We'll follow her as she learns how to control her power and what it means to truly love.**

**Review please! I would be so happy ^^**


	28. Surprises never come alone

**I do not own Sonic the hedgehog nor any of its Characters. Only Violett and Jun belong to me.**

**Surprises never come alone**

„You're actually pretty nice, you know?" Cream smiled. "I only wish you would talk, then I would know your name. But I guess it's alright. It's okay if you're just listening."

The dove looked at the rabbit with wide, red eyes. She was always so nice to him, although he never talked. He didn't want to talk. There were so many strange people here and they frightened him. The crocodile was nice, he really liked him. The bee was okay, too. The cat and the purple hedgehog were really beautiful, like princesses and he could have sworn that he had seen another hedgehog, a really cute, pink one. But she looked like she was hurting terribly, just like the fox with the two Tails. The bat and the chameleon frightened him and there was another animal on this ship, a really loud one that was always yelling. He was frightening, too. His favorite was definitely the rabbit. She was the nicest and the cutest and her mother baked the best cakes he ever tasted. And the little Chao by her side was almost exactly like her.

"Do you want to play doll house with me?" Cream smiled again.

The boy pulled a disgusted grimace that made Cream and Cheese giggle.

"Okay, no doll house then. Do you want to go visit Amy? I haven't seen her in a long time and she's really, really sad. She needs someone to talk to. Say, why don't you talk? Are you mute?"

A frown appeared on the girl's face when he shook his head. She looked at her Chao in worry and he returned her concerned gaze. Simultaneously, they looked back at the dove.

"Why don't you talk, then? At least tell me your name. I want to know what I'm supposed to call you."

"Chao, chao!"

The dove didn't answer. He just looked at the floor, suddenly not wanting to meet the nice rabbit's eyes anymore. But the rabbit wasn't about to give up and neither was the Chao. After all, her teammates trusted her to take care of him.

"Can I guess then? Yes? Are you called James? Daniel? Kevin? Uhhm … Jeremy? Tom?"

"Jun!"

Cream stopped talking and she and her Chao looked at the dove with big eyes. He had talked. He had opened up to them. Their first, very own mission was a success. But more important than that, he was starting to trust them. Of all the people in the ship, they were the first one he trusted enough to talk to. They were special to him. That thought conjured up the cutest smile on Creams face and Jun blushed when seeing it and looked away again.

"Your name is Jun? That's a pretty name. Where do you come from, Jun? How old are you? Why were you in that ship? Where are your parents?"

"Chao! Chao, chao!"

But Jun didn't answer anymore. He kept his eyes at the floor and pretended that he didn't notice that Cream and Cheese were questioning him. She knew his name, that was all she needed to know. Maybe someday, he would tell her more, but not now. Not anytime soon. For the moment, hearing her say his name was enough.

"Will you say my name, Jun?" Cream questioned, trying to catch the little's dove's attention again. "Won't you please say my name? It's Cream, remember? My name is Cream."

Jun looked back at his companion, who was smiling so openly and cutely at him. She seemed to be shining. She was always shining and Jun wanted to believe that she was shining only for him. A small smile made its way on his lips.

"Cream!"

The young female's eyes started sparkling and her smile became huge. Another sign of trust, another success. The pair would definitely make sure to take good care of him. He should feel as comfortable as could be. They would make sure of that, just like the others had told them to. They had given them this task and they felt proud of it. Overjoyed, the rabbit glomped him, throwing them both to the soft floor in her and her mother's room. Cheese joined the hugging happily, sharing his best friend's joy.

"You said my name", she cheered. "You actually said my name. Now you can stay silent for as long as you want. Even forever. I only wanted to hear you say my name!"

Jun was startled at first, but then smiled and wrapped his arms around them as well. He had already found his first friends and that relieved him a lot. Maybe he would become happy here after all.

"Cream!"

They all knew that voice. It was always cheery and always meant that fun was approaching. Both could tell he was excited when he flew into the room and grabbed the rabbit's hand, pulling her away from the young wolf.

"Charmy, what's the matter?" she asked.

"We're about to land. We're back home, on Mobius!"

"Chao! Chao! Chao, chao!" Cheese cheered.

Cream smiled widely and her eyes started shining. Home? Mobius? What was the bee talking about? And why was Cream smiling so widely because of it? Jun didn't understand and he backed away a bit when Cream ran back to him, took his hand and dragged him through the hallway after Charmy. Cheese was flying after them, just as excited as Cream and Charmy were. What on earth was going on?

"Mr. Tails, Mr. Tails, are we really home?" Cream cried when she entered the cockpit.

"Chao? Chao, chao, chao!"

"Almost, Cream, where almost there. About another quarter of an hour and we'll have Mobius' earth under our feet. Oh, you have him with you?"

Cream looked at Jun with bright, shining eyes and a huge grin. Cheese entered now as well and sat down on the dove's head, panting heavily. But he, too, looked incredibly happy. Jun didn't shake him off, like he had the first time. Back then, Cheese had tried to cheer the boy up by sitting down on his head and patting it. It's what always helped Cream cheer up when she was down. Jun had shaken his head until he fell off him. Cream had been mad at him for this forever.

"His name is Jun!" the rabbit smiled proudly.

Tails stopped checking the data immediately and looked at Cream with wide eyes. Charmy stopped zooming around like a madman as well and looked at the trio.

"How do you know?" the kitsune asked.

"He told us."

"You made him talk?"

"Alright! Go Cream, you roll!" Charmy cheered, which made Jun flinch and hide behind his friend. Cheese hopped on Cream's head.

The nearing planet caught Cream's eye and she ran to the huge windows to look out. Jun, Charmy and Tails only watched as the rabbit looked at her nearing home astonished.

"Isn't it beautiful, Cheese? See? This is Mobius. Isn't it beautiful?"

"Chao, Chao!"

Charmy smiled widely and flew to the windows as well. He was completely astonished upon seeing his beloved home planet from space, even though it wasn't the first time. They were so incredibly close and getting closer so fast.

"Jun!" Cream yelled. "Jun, come here. You have to see this, it's amazing."

Jun obeyed and walked to the window slowly. Tails furrowed his eyebrows. The boy was a dove, a bird, but he hadn't seen him fly once ever since Charmy and Vector had rescued him three days ago. The question was; why?

"Look Jun! Come here and take a look!"

Cream, Cheese and Charmy were right; the view really was amazing. Even though Jun had lived in space most of his life, he couldn't remember ever having seen a planet from this point of view, let alone remembering being on one. He had always been on that ship with his mother. Seeing a planet with so many different colors in its fullest made his eyes go wide as well.

"Charmy, could you go get Vector and Espio? I need help to land the Blue Typhoon." Tails asked and the bee pulled himself away from the window.

"Leave it to me!" he answered and flew off.

"Cheese, Jun, get Rouge, Knuckles and Blaze for me please. I'll go get all the others."

"What about Cheese?" Cream asked, holding her blue friend.

"He'll help you of course. After all, you two are strongest if you're together, right?"

Cream and Cheese smiled at that, took Jun's hand and ran out of the cockpit.

Amy wasn't in the cockpit, even though Tails had extra come to ask for her help in the landing maneuver. She didn't want to see her home approaching. Once they had landed, she would say goodbye. She wouldn't see Tails, Cream, Rouge or any of the others again until they finished what they had started. She wouldn't be travelling with all them anymore, wouldn't be fighting with them anymore, wouldn't be laughing, crying and making new experiences with them anymore. But most important of all, she wouldn't be with Sonic anymore. She would be all alone, while all her friends would be out there, fighting to save the thirteen dimensions.

It was for the best. She would be able to bear it if only it meant that they had a bigger chance of coming home. Sonic got hurt because of her and no doubt it would happen again. Even if it wasn't Sonic, it would be one of the others. Yes, it was for the best if she's leave. She wouldn't be a burden to them any longer.

Three days. That's how long it took them to get back home. In these three days, Amy had hardly talked with anybody. She had been in her room most of the time, catching some much needed rest. Or she had been in the kitchen, making herself something to eat. In the last few days, her hunger had been humongous, but she wouldn't have the chance to ask Violett why.

Now that she left, Violett had one student less she had to worry about. She would be able to focus more on other things, like keeping the rest of the team safe. Vanilla would have to cook for one person less and Tails wouldn't have to worry about her being safe anymore. And Sonic … Sonic wouldn't have to worry about protecting her anymore. He would never have to protect her again and risk getting hurt like that again. He was better off without her.

"Amy" Tails knocked on the door. "We're home."

The female didn't answer. She waited until she heard Tails' footsteps leaving, then she heaved herself from her bed heavily. Her eyes were still red and puffy. She had cried a lot in the last few days. Her things were already packed. The only thing she had to do was to take them and leave the ship, knowing that once she did that, she wouldn't come back.

Without saying a word, she took her bags and walked out of the room. The same thoughts and pictures that had been haunting her for the last few days circled in her mind as she walked through the hallways and corridors. The others were already at the entrances, carrying out everything that had become unnecessary since they left Blaze's planet. Sonic wasn't amongst them. Of course he wasn't, he was still unconscious. She wouldn't help. She just wanted to get away from all of her friends as fast as possible.

When nobody was looking, she ran. She sneaked out of the huge garage and out into the forest. There wasn't a single tree that she had forgotten. The smell of the forest was still the same, so was the earth beneath her shoes. She used to love this forest, but now that she knew that Sonic would not run through here anytime soon, it all seemed dull and grey.

Almost automatically, she walked to her house. Sonic and Tails had helped her build it many, many years ago after the blur had saved her from Eggman for the very first time. He had stayed over so often, more times then she could count. Of course he did. Sonic was the only one who didn't have a house, he just slept whenever he wanted, knowing that he was always welcomed at his friends' place.

Inside, she put down her bags and walked out again. Staying in one place for too long made her even more depressed then she already was. Everything here reminded her of Sonic and being reminded of Sonic only reminded her of the reason he wasn't here right now. Pictures appeared in her mind again; pictures of Sonic, how he had been hanging there in midair when he had been pierced, how he laid there, helpless and weak and still trying to smile, how he fallen unconscious with his blood splattered all over him.

Amy closed her eyes tightly and shook her head as if that could ban those pictures out of her head. It didn't. So she started running. Maybe, just maybe, she would be able to run away from it all. So she ran. She ran and ran and ran until her chest burned like fire and her feet hurt. But she didn't stop. She wouldn't stop. And so, she kept on running, not knowing where and not caring either, hoping that it would help her forget.

Before she knew it, she was on the floor, sitting on her butt. She had run into something soft, but robust. Maybe running with eyes shut hadn't been such a great idea after all.

"You wanna be killed, girl?"

She had heard this voice before. It was so terribly familiar. Slowly, she opened her eyes when she heard something click and felt something pressing against the skin between her eyes. A pitch black gun was the first thing she saw. It must have been what made the clicking noise and it definitely was the thing pressing against her skin. The one holding the gun was a hedgehog, just as black and just as threatening. Some parts of his spines were red, just like his eyes. Behind him was another hedgehog, silvery white in color with a very weird hairstyle wearing very weird boots. But Amy didn't see him. Her attention was on the black hedgehog holding the gun against her head. Her eyes went wide when she recognized him and her mouth opened in disbelief.

"Shadow?"

**Da masters have arrived! You all wanted Shadow and Silver? Well, here they are! But I give every bet you weren't expecting them to be found on Mobius, right? After all, Silver lives 200 years in the future ... or was it 700 years? And Shadow was supposed to be dead. And even more important, HOW ON EARTH DID THOSE TWO MEET UP? Will they be able to convince Amy that she should go back to the team? Or will Shadow kill her first. Oh, suspense, suspense.**

**And give applause for Cream as well please. I couldn't help but think that she deserved a small moment for her own as well, especially since Jun will be playing quite the roll later on and the reason for this are Cream and Cheese. And for all those who don't know yet who Jun is should let their brains get checked. I made it quite obvious if I may say so myself.**

**There is perhaps one more thing I should explain; Mana, or magical energy, is simply another form of energy that is connected to your body. Not everybody has it, though. When you use up a lot of it, you have to get it back somehow. That's why Amy was sleeping and eating so much during the last three days. How exactly that entire magic thing works will be explained in later chapters.**

**I sincerely hope you all review. I would really be happy ^^**


	29. Come back, Amy!

**Before we start; this is for my dear reviewer Pandamonium. He … or she, asked me if Mana wasn't the good part of your soul in the Egyptian mythology. The one thing that is clear is that Mana really does appear in the Egyptian mythology, but it appears in many, many other cultures and religions as well. The actual concept of Mana that we know today comes from oceanic isles, like New Zeeland. It's mostly described as a mysterious force that resides in people and allows them to live, meaning that it's pretty much another word for Chakra, also called Chi. Another meaning that pops up pretty often is that it's the source of supernatural abilities, meaning magic. Since that magic comes from the soul, Mana is said to be the substance that the soul is made of.**

**Next to island cultures like Hawaiian, New Zeeland, Polynesia or Melanesia, Mana also appears within the Aboriginal culture, the ancient Greek, the Egyptian, the Finnish, the Inuit, the Roman and a heckload of other cultures. They all have their very own picture of Mana and I would be sitting here for the next three weeks if I tried to explain them all.**

**In the universe of this story, Mana is nothing but energy in certain forms that allows people to have different abilities. Amy has a very pure form of Mana, Blaze has another form that allows her to use fire and Violett has tons of different kinds in her, inherited from her ancestors. But as said, in later chapters, the concept of Mana and Magic will be explained further.**

**I do not own Sonic the hedgehog nor any of its characters except for Violett. All rights belong to Sega. I almost wrote Silver instead of Sega. But I bet if he owned this all, Sonic the hedgehog would be a bit different than it is today …**

**Don't go, Amy!**

Amy didn't quite know how to react. How long had it been since the last time she had seen those ruby red eyes? He was scowling, like he always was. There was nothing different about him, he was the way she remembered him. But he was supposed to be dead. On the other hand, he was the ultimate life from, Could he even die?

"What did you just call me?"

Even when he pressed his gun harder against her head, she still didn't react. She just stared at him, not quite knowing what to say, not quite knowing what to do. She was lost, even more then she had been the last three days.

"She's just a girl. Put that gun away and let's go."

For the first time, she saw the other hedgehog as he stepped forward and put his hand on his arm. His fur was silvery white, the color of his eyes reminded her of Blaze and he had a really weird hairstyle …

"Don't touch me", Shadow said coldly. "She ran into me, that's more than enough reason for me to blow out her brain."

Blow out her brain? She had not travelled through dimensions, fought against killer robots and freaky shadowy warriors, learned that she was a purehearted and had saved her love's life to get her brain blown out now by this wannabe Sonic! Who did he think he was, threatening her like that? And now he didn't even pay attention to her anymore.

"We have more important things to do! Come on, let's go."

"You go on. I want to kill her first."

That was it. Before the two males even knew what was going on, Amy had her hammer in her hands and stood up. He wanted to kill her? Well he was about to learn a lesson. She might not have been able to compete with him before, but she was stronger now. She would show him what it meant to threaten Amy Rose. She hit the gun out of his hands, making sure not to break it and held the hammer against his face, similar to what he had done with his gun.

"Whoever said you could just come here and threaten me? I am not going to die until Sonic comes back safe and sound, get it?" she pouted.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you", the white hedgehog said. "He's really no guy to mess with."

"And I'm no girl to mess with."

"You really want me to kill you, don't you?" Shadow said, raising an eyebrow, impressed by her courage.

"I'd like to see you try."

The black hedgehog smiled and disappeared from the spot, only to reappear behind the girl. She spun around and tried to hit him, but he evaded by jumping into the air. Knowing that he would do something like this, she got ready and jumped after him, trying to hit him over and over again while he just kept jumping backwards. He hadn't expected her to fight so well, she could see it in his face.

But he still wasn't taking her serious. That enraged her even more. She had been training so hard to be able to keep up with Sonic. She had fought alongside him and she still hadn't been able to save him. He had to protect her. That was the reason he was so hurt right now. No matter how far ahead of her he was, she would always try to keep up with him. How dare Shadow not take her seriously when she was trying so hard?

His next move. Her countermove. It was so easy to react to him. She had seen him fight so often, almost as often as Sonic. But Sonic was fighting differently now and even though Amy knew him so well, she could no longer predict his moves. It was different with Shadow. It was so easy to see what he was going to do next. If only she would be able to keep up with his speed.

She could almost see it; his next move. No, she could see even more than that. When he jumped, she knew where he was going to land, where he was going to place the next step and where he would try to attack before he would evade another one of her attacks. She had to catch him just once. One opportunity. He jumped. She turned. He landed. She hit. It was one hit with her hammer, swung with only one hand, right against his skull. All her strength had been in that hit. He was surprised; she saw that in his expression. Then he fell to the floor like a water sack.

She had won. It was luck, she knew it. He hadn't taken her seriously. Had he done that, she wouldn't have stood a chance. But still, she had actually managed to beat Shadow, something that even Sonic had problems with. She really had gotten stronger. Pride filled her, even though she was completely out of breath.

"Wow" the other hedgehog said.

That's right, there had been another one with Shadow. She had been so surprised to see him that she hardly even noticed. Turning around, she saw him walking towards her.

"You actually managed to beat him. That's impressive."

"He wasn't taking me seriously."

"Because he didn't expect you to be so strong."

Amy turned away from the silvery hedgehog, back at the black one at her feet. He looked so much like Sonic, who was unconscious as well right now, lying in the ship, weak and helpless. And it was her fault.

"You're wrong. I'm not strong. Not strong enough, anyways."

)§)§

"So that's what happened …" Silver thought out aloud.

Amy nodded depressed and ran her hands through the fur of the black hedgehog lying on her legs. He was still knocked out from her blow and Amy had dragged him to the nearest bench and allowed him to rest on her lap. Silver was sitting next to her.

"You called him 'Shadow' just before. Do you know him?"

"Yeah", Amy couldn't help but giggle. "He caused us a lot of trouble, but he also saved all our lives … more than once. I wish I could do that as well."

Amy looked up at the silvery hedgehog. He didn't smile. She hadn't seen him smile once. But he looked at her so intensely and so sincerely that she couldn't help but wonder if he was right. And her look was so pure and filled with so much guilt that he couldn't help but to try his best to cheer her up.

"I've seen you fight him … Shadow just there. You're strong. And if I understood you right, you're the entire reason that Sonic is still alive. You DID save his life."

"Yeah, after I made sure that he got hurt."

"I wouldn't say that in front of Sonic if I were you. I'm sure that's the last thing he'd want to hear. After all, he did risk his life to save you."

"THAT'S THE PROBLEM!" Amy cried, tears welling up in her eyes. "HE RISKED HIS LIFE! HE GOT HURT! HE WAS ABOUT TO DIE! AND IT'S MY FAULT! BECAUSE I WASN'T STRONG ENOUGH!"

Shadow stirred in her lap and that had her shut up. But her tears kept flowing and soon, they were falling on Shadow, one after another. A sob escaped her lips, then another one and then she started crying uncontrollably. Silver had enough experience with unsecure girls. For the first time since Amy met him, he smiled warmly and put his head on her head, stroking it delicately. Amy stopped sobbing and looked at him with big, red, puffy eyes.

"Why don't you start thinking about Sonic for a change?" he said.

Amy's eyes got even bigger at that. Thinking about Sonic? That was the only thing she had been doing for the last three days. Couldn't he tell?

"You know", Silver went on, "I'm pretty sure Sonic didn't go so far just to wake up and hear that you left the team. You must be really important to him, you know."

"Why do you think that?"

"Well, if you weren't, he wouldn't have gone so far to save you. I know what it means; going all the way for somebody important. Besides, I'm sure having you feel guilty is the last thing he wanted. If you really want to make him happy, you should stop saying that it's all your fault and start being thankful for what he did. I give every bet that's what he'd want most."

"What Sonic would want most …"

What would he want most? Amy had been so busy worrying about how she wanted him to be safe that she had completely forgotten what all the others had wanted. On the other hand …

"It doesn't matter what the others want. The most important thing is that they're safe and they're a lot safer if I'm not around to hold them back."

Silver gave a low chuckle. "You really believe that, don't you?"

Amy nodded.

"What about you?" she tried changing topics. "What are you doing here with Shadow? And how come he's lost his memories again?"

"I don't know how he's lost his memories. He already didn't have them when I found him half dead in the shatters of a broken house. But we soon found out that he could use the Chaos Emeralds as well, so I tried something out that had happened a long time ago; have to people cross the powers of the Emeralds. And the result was that we managed to travel through time. We needed each other to do that, so we decided to travel together, him looking for his memories and me looking for my friend. I'm pretty sure that she is somewhere on this planet, only in another time."

The female tried laughing, but with her nose still stuffed from the tears, it sounded more like a weird kind of hiccup.

"Well, Shadow surely found reached his goal. I'm sure Tails and Violett will be able to find a way to retrieve his memories. And maybe he can help you as well."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, what if that friend of yours is not on this planet? Maybe she's on another planet. If you're lucky, she's on one of the planets that they'll visit. Besides, your powers are awesome. I'm sure you'll be able to help them a lot with it. What did you call it?"

"Telekinesis."

"Can you show it to me again?"

Silver sighed, but obeyed anyways. He raised his hand and immediately, it started glowing turquoise. Soon after, Shadow started glowing, then Amy. The pink hedgehog started flowing off the bench while Shadow gently flowed back on it. Once in the air, Amy made loop-de-loop after another. She giggled and laughed and Silver couldn't help but smile as well. Then he let her back down on the bench, with Shadow's head on top of her lap. Still, Amy was giggling and laughing heartily.

"That's awesome", she laughed. "It's even better then what Violett can do!"

"Violett?"

"The magician who trained me. She can use telekinesis, too. But yours is a lot stronger."

Silver's brows furrowed but both hedgehogs' attention was turned to Shadow in Amy's lap a split second after . First he stirred, then he moaned and finally, he opened his eyes.

)§)§

Heat! So much painful heat. It was consuming him, driving him insane. Where did it come from? Why didn't it go away? It hurt. It burned. What did he have to do for it to stop? Fire. Lightning. Blaze. Was she doing this? Was she the one who caused this unimaginable heat? He had to try and see it. Get away from the blackness. Open his eyes. But he had to fight. Use up all his energy just to open his eyes. And finally, he managed to do so. But where was Blaze? If she wasn't causing this heat, then who … or what … was?

"Sonic?"

The blur turned his head slowly, only to meet a pair of gentle looking, hazel eyes, surrounded by creamy fur. They were familiar, but it took a while for Sonic's memory to kick in and remember who exactly she was.

"Vanilla …" he moaned weakly. "What happened? I feel like I usually do after I ditched Amy, only a billion times worse."

"You got injured quite badly. We've been fearing for your life for a while, but I'm glad you're back up."

Sonic opened his mouth to say something, but something else came into his mind. His eyebrows furrowed and he closed his mouth again. Then his eyes went wide and he shot up, only to grab his chest and crouch over in pain, groaning.

"Easy there. I told, you, you've been wounded heavily", Vanilla said and pressed the hedgehog back down on the bed gently, but with strength.

He let it happen, pulling a grimace in pain and panting heavily from the immense pain.

"Amy", he huffed. "Where is Amy? I remember her being attacked and …"

"Calm down Sonic. Tell me everything that happened from the very beginning."

"We … we were in that hallway in Eggman's ship and then we came into this huge hall with all these weird shadowy creatures. They had us surrounded, Amy and me that is. So we started fighting, but they were so hard to defeat, so hard to destroy. And Amy; her fighting was so awesome. I think she destroyed even more of these … things then I did. I wonder how she got so strong."

"Violett was training her as well."

That made Sonic laugh, but he stopped immediately and clutched his chest in pain.

"That explains. There were way too many of them. Amy was fighting so many of them as once and then there was one attacking her from behind. She didn't see it, how could she? Somehow, I saw her in front of me, covered in blood, not moving, not reacting. And then my body started moving on its own. I couldn't control it at all. The next thing I remember is pain and a lot of it, too. And Amy's face. I remember seeing her crying and then … nothing until the moment I woke up here."

For the first time, Sonic actually looked at his chest and saw the thick bandage. He had bandaged often enough to know that this injury must be big if it was bandaged this thickly. And Vanilla had said that they had been fearing for his life.

"How did I survive?"

"We're not sure. Amy never told us. But whatever happened, it's thanks to her that you're still alive. She brought you to safety. And when you were on the verge of death, she used some kind of magic to heal that injury of yours. That made sure that you wouldn't die anytime soon."

"Guess that means I have a buckload to thank her for then, huh? Where is she anyways? I somehow expected her to stay at my bed until I woke up."

The rabbit's smile vanished in an instant and she looked at the floor, not wanting to meet the hedgehog's eyes. Sonic noticed this and furrowed his brows. He didn't like that reaction. Something was off here.

"Vanilla, where is Amy?"

"She's … not here."

"What do you mean 'she's not here'?"

"Sonic, we're back on Mobius right now, And Amy … she's the entire reason we're here. She wants to leave us."

"WHAT?"

Sonic shot up again, with the same result as before. He groaned in pain, clutched his chest and pulled a grimace. But he refused to lie back down and instead looked at Vanilla agitated.

"She wants to leave? Why on earth does she want to leave? Wait, this is completely wrong! I'm usually the one walking out on her, not the other way around. How did this happen?"

"She says that she's tired of fighting, but we all know that that's nonsense."

"So then what's the real reason?"

"Well, Violett said that she believes that your injury is her fault. And to prevent something like this from ever happening again, she decided to leave us."

"It IS her fault."

He earned a death glare from Vanilla for that and grinned sheepishly as an apology. Then he clutched his chest tightly and made attempts to stand up. Vanilla's shoulders sacked as she watched him do that.

"What are you doing?" she asked flabbergasted.

"What does it look like? I'm going to find Amy and knock some sense into her."

"Oh no you don't. You just woke up after you've been out for three days. There's no way I'm going to let you …"

"THREE DAYS? I've been out for THREE DAYS? Man, that must have been one hell of a hit."

"They pierced your chest."

Now it was Sonic's shoulders that dropped and he looked at the rabbit thunderstruck. For a few moments, nobody moved as Sonic tried to swallow that shock.

"You're kidding, right?"

"As said, it's thanks to Amy that you're still alive."

"That's it. I am so going to knock sense into that girl."

"No, no wait, you have to lie down. Your wound is going to open again. SONIC!"

Named hedgehog didn't listen and tried storming out of the room, although it looked more like a frog trying to walk on two feet. Every step brought agony. It felt like the flames of hell was burning in his chest and Vanilla trying to stop him didn't help. But he was thankful to her anyways when she finally gave up and decided to help him instead. With him leaning on her, they walked out of ship slowly and pulled the attention of all the others on themselves. They were all glad that their hero was back.

**So let's see what the situation here is; Shadow is out, Silver is somewhere on Mobius with Amy and Shadow and Sonic is finally awake and already overdoing it again. Yap, that's Sonic the way we know him. I also gave Vanilla a small motherly scene here. She deserves some of the spotlight as well, don't you think?**

**And Amy actually beat Shadow. Granted, he was really just toying with her, but I guess that was his downfall. He'll never let that happen again, I can assure you that. The next time these two get into a fight, he'll have her pinned before she even knows what happened. **

**Remember way back in Blaze's kingdom when she was telling Tails about that friend of hers? Well, it looks like Silver's looking for a friend as well. I wonder who it might be … At least now you all know why these two are on Mobius. That's something, right? Right?**

**Comment please ^^**


	30. Found

**Before we start, I will answer another question, again from Pandamonium. He/she asked how I came up with this plot. Well, here's the answer.**

**It all started when I watched Sonic Underground. Yap, that's right, not Sonic X, not SatAm, Sonic Underground! I started imagining what would happen if Amy had been in it. Also, I was just playing Sonic and the black knight and I was fascinated by Merlina, so I made Amy a magician. On the other hand, I couldn't help but have my main focus on Manic. I mean, how can you not? He's the most awesome Sonic character, EVER! So I decided to make the magician an own character, but a magician in training, just like Sonic, Sonia and Manic. I also wanted Amy and Tails in there, but they didn't quite fit into the Undergound world.**

**So, what to do? I started playing with the thought of uniting every single Sonic verse. But many things just didn't fit, especially in the Archie Comics. So I just used the idea of the Zones that you all know from the Archieverse. But then what about Chris? Remember how he travelled not through Zones, but through something else, whatever that was? I thought about what it might be and I came up with the idea of the dimensions.**

**Now, what about the adventure they were supposed to have? It was clear that they would save the dimensions, they always save everything, but why and how? I wanted them to have a challenge, something that went even farther than in the third season of Sonic's X. So I created Lupa, who would take every risk to get back her love. I also had to perfect the Zones and Dimensions concept and that's when I came up with the dimensional items and the guardian. **

**At some point, I decided to make this story a continuation of Sonic X, but I had to answer a few questions to that, for example what to do with Shadow or another character that I wanted back in. I also wanted Blaze and Silver in. It was clear for me from the beginning that Silver and Blaze would know each other, so I started planning out their past. Then there were a few open questions to Blaze; How did she manage to control her flames? How does her castle look? What is her family? How did she get that jewel on her forehead (The jewel is the main reason I created the gate-key-concept). Then it hit me; she could have been a trainee once, just like Violett. Or maybe together with Violett. And so it goes on.**

**So to make it short, it all started through playing with imagination. Then I started asking myself questions and giving myself hurdles and thought about it until I came up with a logical solution. Once I had that done, I looked through the entire plot over and over again, looking for holes and mistakes. The next thing I did was to look for questions a reader might have, no matter how simple and if there was a hole there, something that couldn't be answered, I tried coming up with a completely new plot to be able to answer them. And last but not least I grinded the entire plot until I was happy with it. And I never wrote down a thing. I have it all stuck in my head. Hope that answers your questions. Who knows, maybe I helped some of you guys out there with their own plot planning.**

**But where's the Sonic Underground part in this story? Well, I have many, MANY seasons planned out and I plan on writing them all. Don't worry, they will come, together with a lot of other characters that have long been forgotten in the Sonic Universes. And even some that aren't in the Sonic Universe at all.**

**I do not own Sonic the hedgehog nor any of its characters. All rights belong to Sega.**

**Found**

"SONIC!"

Four voices called at once called that name and they were scattered so much that Sonic didn't know which way to turn first. But his choice was taken for him when footsteps came closer and that fast. Amy was running towards him and he pushed himself away from Vanilla to meet her halfway. He took one step, then another one and that's when his strength left him. Had Amy not caught him in time, he would have collapsed. Tails and Knuckles were next to be at his side and Cream and Cheese were last. They had been the other three who had called his name.

The others weren't there at that moment. Some were in the ship, gathering stuff that was no longer needed. Others had left the garage to get new supplies, like water and food. Jun was still there, but didn't dare coming closer. And far in the back, where nobody could see them, where Silver and Shadow, not quite knowing what to do now that their guardian had left their side.

"Hey Ames", Sonic grinned.

"IDIOT!" Amy cried as a response.

Sonic just kept on smiling. He knew that reaction by now. It was her way of showing how glad she was that he was okay and with her again. Sure, there were better ways, but this was just Amy and she wouldn't be Amy if she didn't react like that. Knuckles was no different. He knocked Sonic over the head, knowing perfectly well that he already had enough pain to deal with.

"Ouch!" Sonic hissed.

"That's for scaring us", he said grumpily.

"Yeah, it's cool to see you too, Knux", Sonic grinned back before he turned to Tails. "Hey bro, what's up?"

"Nothing much if you ignore that Amy and I have almost gone crazy with worry." He answered.

"Yeah, sorry about that."

"Sonic, why aren't you in bed? You should be lying down, you're going to …"

But Amy never got to finish. Sonic hushed her and looked at her intensively, looking for the right thing to say. One wrong word and he would never get her back. She had saved his life, saved him from danger itself more than once. Always smiling, always thinking of others first. And now she was bringing that huge sacrifice for something so ridiculously stupid.

He wasn't fast enough to find those words. Rouge, who had been out to gather water, had come in just to bump into the one person she thought she would never get to see again.

"Sh … Shadow …" she breathed loud enough for everyone to hear.

Tails, Cream, Cheese and Knuckles turned around to look at the entrance of the huge garage, where the two other hedgehogs were standing together with the bat. Sonic was already in the right position to see him but had to wait until the others had stepped aside. Just like the others, he wasn't quite sure what to think, let alone what to say or do.

Cream and Cheese were the first to react. They ran to him, laughing happily and Cheese took his hands.

"Mr. Shadow, you're alive. You're actually alive. Isn't that great, Cheese? Mr. Shadow is back!"

"Chao!"

Shadow looked at the little rabbit and her Chao. He was just as perplexed as the others, if not even more. By now, everyone had been scared of him and his dark appearance. People stayed away from him, making sure not to get too close to him, no matter how hard he tried to prove that he was harmless. And yet, this little child was laughing and smiling, acting like he was a long lost friend, not showing any fear whatsoever. He didn't know if he should be happy or annoyed by that. And then there was the bat that was standing behind him. Her eyes were wide and she was shaking just a tiny bit, but she didn't seem scared. She seemed more like she was happy to see him. What was going on?

Only Tails noticed the way Amy behaved. She was looking away and biting her lip, almost ashamed that she had completely forgotten the two hedgehogs she had promised to help.

"Amy, did you find him?" he asked skeptically.

Amy smiled sheepishly as a response and rubbed the back of her head.

"You?" Knuckles asked. "Why didn't you tell us before now? We didn't even notice he was here!"

"I kinda forgot about the two when I saw Sonic."

"That's just typical", Sonic laughed weakly. "So, how did you find him?"

"I ran into him … literally. And he sort of threatened me, saying he would kill me and stuff. So I started fighting him and that's when I realized that he has lost his memories."

"Again?"

"Again. That's one of the reasons I brought him here. I thought maybe we could help. Silver, Shadow, come here! I want to introduce you to everybody."

The black and silvery hedgehogs obeyed and came to stand next to Amy. Rouge also followed, not wanting to be left alone, together with Cream and Cheese, who jumped to Jun happily and dragged him to the others.

"Shadow, Silver, these are Knuckles, Tails, Rouge, Cream and Cheese and … uh …"

"Jun! His name is Jun!"

"Jun, right! You all know Shadow and this is Silver. He helped Shadow to get here. He says he's from the future and that's where he found Shadow. And he can use telekinesis much better than Violett can!"

"From the future? How awesome is that?" Sonic exclaimed.

Two more figures appeared that moment. Blaze and Violett came from the inside of the ship, both with boxes in their hands, to where all the others were standing. Since all the others were standing in a circle around Silver, Shadow, Sonic and Amy, they couldn't see what was going on. But Violett felt Sonic's and Amy's presence, together with two new ones; one that seemed like it wasn't even allowed to exist and one that she seemed to have felt before a long time ago. In a dream maybe, or in the dream of a dream.

"What's going on here?" Blaze asked, catching the small crowd's attention.

Everybody turned around, giving the view on the four in the center free. But neither of the two saw that Sonic had awaken or that Amy was back. They didn't even see the black hedgehog standing next to Amy. Their gazes where focused to the silvery one with the yellow eyes. Two pairs of eyes widened instantly, Violett took a few steps back involuntarily and Blaze let her box fall.

"Silver …" was the only thing Blaze could say. "But … how?"

Silver had more problems recognizing the cat. What he had been looking for was a little girl that wouldn't dare meeting anyone's eyes. What was standing in front of him was a real princess, completely different from what she used to be. Blaze saw his confused gaze and took a step forward. Did he not remember her? She tried smiling and held up a hand, where a small flame shot up from.

"It's me, Silver."

"Blaze?"

"Silver", Amy interrupted. "The friend you've been looking for …"

"Yes! It's her, Blaze."

Blaze's eyes went even wider and her forced smile disappeared in an instance. For a second, the small, insecure girl she had been years ago was back. She didn't know what to say or what to do next. Too many questions were twirling around in her head. She didn't have to react. All attention was taken off the two when Sonic collapsed again, falling asleep on Amy's lap.

)§)§

Amy took the towel and dunked it into the water until it was soaking wet. Then she pressed as much water as she could out of it and cleaned the fur and the skin around Sonic's wound again. She started at the very edges and went in closer and closer until the towel touched the wound itself. That's when Sonic flinched.

"Stop moving!" Amy commanded. "I can't treat you when you keep moving around."

"Try having an injury like this of your own!" Sonic counted grumpily. "Anyways, why is he here?"

The black hedgehog sitting at a corner of the room opened one eyes lazily, but decided that it was not worth his energy and closed it again. That just ticked Sonic off even more and he tried to stand up and go at Shadow, only to be yelled at by Amy. He pouted, but lied back down anyways.

"Shadow is here because Silver and Blaze wanted to have a moment of their own and he doesn't know anybody except for me. You can't seriously expect me to leave him all on his own with a bunch of strangers!"

"We're not strangers."

"To him we are, now hold still!"

Sonic did as he was told and stayed as still as he could. He didn't even talk. He just watched as Amy disinfected the wound in the back and in the front. The front had already healed quite well thanks to Amy's healing treatment, but the back still looked terribly painful.

"Hey Sonic?"

"Yeah?"

"Can I try something?"

"What?"

"Well … if all goes well I might heal your wound a bit more even, but if not …"

"What?"

"I'm not exactly sure. Violett just said that, if I do it wrong, I could cause more harm than good and she wouldn't be able to help anymore."

"Go ahead!"

"Are you sure?"

"You've healed me before, right? You can do it again. Besides, the faster this injury is healed, the sooner I can start running again."

Amy smiled widely, happy that the blur put so much trust in her. Gently, she turned him on his back. She swallowed hard and placed her hands just above the wound. Then she closed her eyes and concentrated. She sat there like this for a long time, not really knowing what she was supposed to do. But she kept concentrating; she concentrated on the wound on Sonic's back.

And slowly, very slowly, she started to see pictures. They were blurry at first, but the longer she concentrated, the sharper they got. But what she saw didn't make sense. They were pictures she's never seen before and she couldn't identify them. Only as the picture started moving did she understand what she saw; it was the inside of the crust on Sonic's back

She concentrated even more and the found that the pictures became bigger, as if she was zooming in. She could see his skin cells working to regenerate themselves just beneath the crust, trying to close that injury once and for all. Amy tried looking further into Sonic's body. She wanted to look beneath the skin cells, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't move. What did she lack?

Well, if she couldn't heal Sonic from the inside, she might as well help the injury to close up. She zoomed in a bit farther and found that the pictures got blurry again. It took all her will to stay where she was and not just abandon the whole project, just to give her brain a brake.

That's how she kept doing it. She zoomed in, concentrated on what she saw until the picture became clear again and then zoomed in some more. Her head was aching. It was so hard to do. She had to concentrate more than she ever had before and at some points, she was on the verge of losing that concentration. But she kept pulling herself back together and went on. How on earth could she have done something like that in her sleep?

Finally she was where she wanted to be, close enough to see Sonic's DNA in detail. She saw where it was parted, where it was dying and where it was already regenerating. She could see the enzyme's working like mad to heal their bearer. She would help them. That was the next step.

If Amy thought that what she had done until now was hard, it got even harder now; she had to summon her magic without losing what she was seeing. The pictures of Sonic getting stabbed came back into her mind. That was all it took to get that familiar feeling pulsating through her. It was weak, but it was there. She wanted to heal him. She wanted to help him. She wanted to protect him.

The feeling got stronger. The more she thought about what she wanted to do, the stronger it got. But it was still nothing compared to what she had felt back in Eggman's ship. It was hardly as much as it had been in her first tries to summon magic. It would have to work. If she concentrated any more on it, she would lose the picture of the DNA out of her sight.

The next step was a tiny bit easier. She had to merge her mana with his DNA. She felt it flowing through her hands into Sonic's body. But once it was there, she had to use everything she had in her brain to keep it under control. Why was it so hard to keep it flowing the way she wanted to? It hadn't been that hard when she had summoned it to her hammer.

Finally, she did it. Her mana surrounded the broken strings of his DNA. But nothing happened. Her mana was just there, not doing anything. And Amy noticed that the task wasn't done yet. In fact, she had a feeling that the hard part was still to come. She zoomed in even closer, trying not lose the control of her mana. Once the picture was no longer blurry, she saw the enzymes in every detail. After one deep breath, she let her mana flow around every single enzyme, especially the moving ones and let it sink in.

She wanted to heal him. With this thought I mind, her magic finally worked. The broken DNA started building itself up a lot faster than it had before. But with all her magic actually doing something now, it was almost impossible to keep track of the many different enzymes that had Amy's mana, let alone control it. But she had to try. If she couldn't control it, then who knew what they would do to Sonic's body? She concentrated so hard that she thought her head would split and regained enough control of what her magic was doing, that she could ensure that no harm would be done.

Sonic had started getting nervous when nothing had happened for a long while and looked at Amy in worry. But then her hands started glowing just a tiny bit and pleasant warmth filled his back. It was only at the very skin, but it felt good anyways. He relaxed immediately. Neither of the two knew that this was necessary for Amy to work her magic.

But Shadow started getting worried the moment her fingers started glowing. The strain this magic put on her was visible. The more time passed, the more she sweating. Her breathing turned into heavy pants and at some point, her nose starting bleeding from all the effort. By the time she released her iron grip on the picture, she was about to collapse. She had a splitting headache, her stomach was growling and she felt like she could fall asleep right on the spot. By now she knew that this was the downside of using magic, but it had never been this worse with such a small amount of magic. Still, it wasn't nearly as bad as it had been after she had dragged Sonic to safety.

Amy opened her eyes and took a look at the wound. She had done more at the chest when she had been asleep. Still, the very ends of the wound looked a bit better. She had only repaired the very ends of the cut skin, she knew that. She hadn't been able to move farther into the wound, she hadn't been able to regenerate entire cells. But it was a start. It had only been her first try and healing magic was not something that Violett would be able to teach her. She would just have to keep training.

"Well?" Sonic pulled her out of her thoughts. "Does it look any better?"

"A bit", Amy answered tired.

"Then don't leave!"

Amy didn't answer, not quite knowing what to say. That demand had taken her by surprise. She just looked at the blur with big eyes. Shadow was still in the background, pretending not to be there, but Sonic couldn't help but to notice his presence. He simply tried to ignore it.

"What? Did I catch you off guard?"

Amy nodded.

"It's simple; we're not gonna lose any time here and if you don't come with us, you won't be able to treat me. That means it'll take longer until I can start running and fighting again."

Silence …

"He's right, you know", Shadow said. "The longer he's hurt, the longer he'll be in danger."

"Listen to the faker, Amy."

"Don't call me faker, faker!"

"Yeah, whatever! So, you back in or what?"

Amy looked from Sonic to Shadow and back. She did that for a while, until she finally smiled. Both saw how relieved the smile was.

"Sure!"

**For all those who didn't quite get what just happened here; Sonic gave Amy a reason to stay. She felt useless and as if she was a burden, so Sonic showed her, not told her, showed her, that she is not useless. I actually had a huge touching scene in my head where Sonic would be the biggest gentlemen in the world, just to get Amy back, but I figured that didn't quite fit. It was too OOC for Sonic.**

**And yes, Silver and Blaze finally met. I'm gonna start the next chapter with a little Silvaze moment. Look forward to it, ya all!**

**Please review. I would be very happy ^^**


	31. Life goes on

**First off, my dear reader Pandamonium asked if Manic will be in this fic because he/she agrees to my opinion about Manic. Whoever you are Pandamonium, I already like you!**

**Anyways, from what I wrote in the last chapter, the answer should be rather obvious. However, if it is not obvious, then I will NOT answer this question. Sorry, Pandamonium.**

**I do not own Sonic the Hedgehog nor any of its character. All rights belong to Sega. Only Violett belongs to me.**

**Life goes on**

Neither the hedgehog nor the cat said a word. Neither of them knew what to say. They just walked next to each other in silence, Blaze with a small smile on her lips and Silver looking to the floor.

"Are you really Blaze?"

"What do you mean?" Blaze asked back.

"You're so different from how you used to be."

"Yeah, I've heard that before. I'm Blaze, Silver. The same Blaze hat rescued you and that you rescued."

Blaze turned on her heels and nearly bumped into Silver. But she stayed where she was and smiled more gently than what her team had ever seen before.

"I've grown up. That's all that happened to me. Apparently you haven't. I mean, did you really believe you would find me just by travelling from one time to another without even knowing which time I was in? What were you thinking? Are you really still that naïve?"

"Well, it worked. Just like our way to get me back home worked."

"That was naïve as well …"

"Yeah, it was. Only, once I was back home I realized something."

The hedgehog didn't dare meeting Blaze's eyes. His eyes kept moving from one point to another; from his shoes to her necklace, from his arm to the wall behind her from the floor to her hand. And that's where he stopped and entwined his fingers with hers. Hastily and with wide eyes, she looked at her friend, then at their hands, back to Silver, back to their hands and back at Silver. She wanted to ask what it was that he realized, but she couldn't. It was as if she had lost control over her brain completely.

"Mobius isn't my real home."

Blaze's shoulders dropped, so did her ears and she looked at him aghast. What did he mean Mobius wasn't his home? They had spent hours trying to get the little lost boy back to where he came from. Day after day, month after month until it had finally worked. She had never wanted him to go. She had wanted him to stay with her but she never told him that because he wanted to go back home so desperately. And now he told her that Mobius hadn't been his home after all?

A familiar sensation took over her body. Her pupils turned small, her body tensed and her skin was heating up. Everything in her was screaming. She was so angry she could have burned him to the ground right here and there and if he said another wrong word, she would do exactly that.

"Blaze, calm down, it's not what you think it is", Silver said, seeing the signs of her approaching anger outburst. "What I realized is that my home wasn't Mobius. It wasn't your planet either or any other place in the world. It can't be any place because my home is where you are!"

All anger disappeared immediately at these words. His home was with her. That's what he just said. But somehow, she couldn't quite comprehend what it meant. And even though she wanted to say so much, there was nothing in her mind. It was completely empty.

"Huh?" She said overwhelmed.

"That's why I've been searching for you. The one who's interacted with the Soul Emeralds was no other than Shadow. We appeared on Mobius at the same time and then it turned out that he could use the Chaos Emeralds, too. And by the time we found out that we could travel through time when we used Chaos Control at the same time and with each other, I had long realized where I really wanted to be; with you. Ever since then, we've been searching. We've been searching for years and years and now I've finally found you."

"You wanted to stay with me?"

Silver smiled a bit and nodded softly. He wanted to take the cat's other hand, but she pulled both of them away and punched his chest, much to his surprise. For a moment, his breath was taken away, but Blaze didn't stop punching him. She punched him again and again and with each of her punches, they got weaker until she finally stopped and dug her fingers into his chest fur.

The time traveler was fighting with his breath still, but noticed that something was wrong with his friend. When he was able to breathe normally again, he noticed that she was sobbing. Small, quiet sobs. Her knees gave way and she slowly let herself fall on the floor, dragging the silvery hedgehog with her.

"B … Blaze?"

"Why?" She sobbed. "Why couldn't you have realized that earlier? Why couldn't you have realized that before you left me? When I needed you?"

"What are you talking about, Blaze?"

"I NEVER WANTED YOU TO LEAVE!" the cat cried. "I wanted you to stay with me. You were the only friend I had. I didn't know what to do after you were gone. We didn't even manage to say goodbye and I thought I would never see you again. I cried, Silver. I cried day after day and my fire cried with me. How much do you think I burned after you were gone?"

"A lot?"

"I burned everything that got too close to me. And when I did, I wished more than anything else that you would come back and help me stop it. And then … and then I imagined that you were still with me and I thought of what you said. And that's when I told father about my flames. He knew all along. Of course he knew. We were so naïve to think that he didn't."

Silver didn't mind that. He couldn't help but smile at Blaze's breakdown. Up until now he had thought that his friend had changed completely, but that was over. In front of him was the same little crybaby he remembered, trying to act strong as always. Only now, she was strong. The little Blaze just didn't have to come out so often anymore. At some point, she would disappear completely, but not yet. Not now. Right now, she was just the kid he remembered and he was glad for that.

"It's okay now", he whispered and wrapped his arms around her. "I've found you, that's all that matters."

Neither of the two noticed another hedgehogs hiding behind the closest corner. But she didn't interfere, nor did she react in any other way. She just looked to the ground with a rather depressed expression on her face. In one swift, soundless move, she turned and left the scene.

($($

Most of the times, Sonic was sleeping. If he was awake, it wasn't for long. It didn't take much for him to feel drained. A conversation that went longer than ten minutes was enough and he usually fell asleep right after he ate something, too. It had been only five days since he had been pierced, yet he had already lost quite an amount of weight. He would have to get it back somehow.

The hospital in New Mobotropolis hadn't been able to do much. The only thing they actually did was to disinfect Sonic's wound completely, what neither of the others had been able to do. It had been difficult because the wound wasn't exactly fresh, but they managed to do it anyways and they even taught Amy how to sew wounds.

Now they were back in space and Amy didn't make any progress on her healing whatsoever. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't move her vision when she saw the inside of Sonic's damaged skin, nor could she see under his skin. There were no longer broken skin cells to be repaired and even though she tried, she just couldn't manage to produce new ones. There was just too much she had to look after in order to do that and if she tried, then her magic went out of control.

At least now that the wound was sewn, she could help a tiny bit in uniting different cells, but at every point where they had come too late for the doctors to help, she was powerless as well. And there were a lot of points. Now that she thought she had finally found a way to do good and to help her damaged teammate it turned out that she was useless after all. Nothing could be done.

"See?" Amy asked the purple hedgehog sitting next to her. "I can't do a thing, no matter how hard I try."

Violett looked at the wound, but didn't quite see it, just like she hadn't quite taken in what Amy had said. That wasn't exactly a normal behavior for the magician and it didn't go unnoticed.

"Is everything okay?" the purehearted asked.

"I have no healing magic, Amy. I don't know what it takes in order to heal. I only know what I've read in books and that wasn't exactly much. Therefore there isn't much I can do to help you."

"Sheesh, will you relax already?" Sonic interrupted. "It's really nice that you're trying to help, but I'll heal sooner or later anyways, so what's the big deal?"

The two females ignored him.

"What might help would be if you learned to control your mana more." Violett went on. "I'm sure healing will be easier if you don't have to focus on what it does anymore. Granted, I'm not really all that talented for that myself, but at least I know how to train you there."

"And then I'll be able to heal Sonic?" Amy asked hopeful.

"Hello, were any of you listening to what I just said?"

"Maybe. What I just told you was pure speculation. It might help, but it might also just be a waste of time. It'll definitely be a big help with many other things, though."

"When can we start training?"

"Right now."

"Would you stop ignoring me already?"

"SHUT UP!" Amy and Violett shouted in unison.

Sonic obeyed immediately. He didn't want to get on Violett's wrong side when something obviously wasn't right with her and as for Amy … he didn't want to get on her wrong side at all. That would just mean a lot more pain than he was already enduring. That and he was already starting to get tired again. Too tired to oppose, too tired to talk.

"Let's go", Amy said and left the room with Violett right behind her.

The moment the door closed, Sonic fell asleep again.

)$)$

The practice wasn't much different than her first few were. The only real difference was that Amy didn't have to launch an attack. In fact, the only thing she had to do was to conjure up mana, which was harder than it sounded. It was easy to conjure up a little bit, but everything beyond a certain point was almost impossible. The fact that Violett seemed distracted didn't really help either. It only distracted the trainee as well.

"Okay, this isn't gonna work", Amy suddenly decided and let her hammer disappear.

Violett looked up. "Huh?"

"How can I train if you don't even pay attention to what I'm doing?" Amy cried.

The mage didn't answer. She just looked at the ground and said nothing, which had Amy sigh a huge sigh.

"Alright, what's the matter?" she asked and sat down next to Violett.

"Nothing", the purple hedgehog answered depressed.

"Aha. Right. And I mysteriously transformed into a cockroach, which would be really gross, but that doesn't matter. I'm offering you to talk about your worries with me here, so stop being all silent."

Again, Violett didn't answer. The only thing she did was to sit down as well, wrap her arms around her legs and look to the ground. She didn't look scary, like she usually did when she didn't smile, she only looked sort of … helpless.

"Okay", Amy gave up. "Then don't tell me. It's not like I don't already know."

That had Violett look up at the pink hedgehog next to her. There was a frown on her face that asked the questions she didn't speak out.

"You've been like this ever since Silver and Shadow joined and the only difference between then and now, is that Blaze is spending all her time with a certain silvery hedgehog. It's obvious, Vi; you're jealous at Silver for spending so much time with Blaze."

Violett's face didn't change, the only reaction Amy hadn't expected. She would have thought that her face would light up in realization or that she would be all embarrassed or something. The fact that the only thing she did was to shift her gaze back at the floor confused the pink female.

"Maybe you're right", Violett said quietly.

How could she admit something like that so easily? It didn't make sense to Amy, but she didn't let the confusion last long.

"You know, it's kind of the only feeling I've ever seen from you", she said smiling.

"It's because the feeling of jealousy is new to me. Any other feeling, be it sorrow, pain, hatred, guilt or loneliness, I can handle. I can hide all these feeling behind a smile. Jealousy is something I have no experience with, therefore I can't hide it."

"And what about good feelings?"

At this, Violett's ears perked up, although her gaze didn't shift. Since Amy got no answer, she decided to talk on.

"I mean, all those feelings you've listed, they're all negative feelings. What do you do when you have positive feelings?"

There was a long silence after that. Since the magicians eyes darkened and her ears dropped, Amy thought it best not to go on talking this time. It seemed like she had hit a very sensitive spot, something that she should never have brought up. In fact, from the way Violett looked right now, she had the feeling that she should not have started this conversation at all.

"… I don't know any of those good feelings", Violett finally answered. "Or rather … I have forgotten them many years ago."

Topic Change! Topic Change! Topic Change! FAST! Violett looked incredibly depressed and yet Amy could feel no pity; only naked fear. If only it wouldn't take away her ability to think, then she could have thought of a good way to lighten up the purple hedgehog's mood before something bad happened. That something, whatever it was that she was so scared of. But she couldn't. How could she try to think if her fear was so great that she couldn't even breathe?

"The only time I ever feel a bit at ease is when I'm with Blaze", Violett said again.

"Why do you hide your feelings anyway? It's easier to just show them."

The moment Amy said that, she knew that it had been a mistake. Violett's mood dropped even more and the fear Amy felt got even bigger. She had to do something! Anything!

"My mother", Violett said almost inaudible. "If I don't smile … then she'll cry. And so will the queen and lady Toluna. If I smile, then so will they."

And thus, all Amy's fear fell off her. Whatever it was that had made the magician so fearful, it was gone. At that moment, she looked like nothing but a lost and insecure little girl. Was that Violett in her very core? And was she the first to see that?

"What about you?" Violett pulled Amy back to reality.

"Huh?"

"Why do you always hide your true feelings?"

Amy looked the magician so perplexed, that alone the idea of Amy hiding any feelings seemed ridiculous. But Violett knew better. The confusion in Amy's eyes was so honest, that the only thing Violett could think of was that the pink female didn't even know of all the things she was building up inside her. Perhaps it was best to leave it this way … at least for the moment.

"Never mind", the mage therefore smiled.

"I have an idea", Amy suddenly said brightly, clapping her hands together. "Something that will make you feel better."

Violett looked up, not a single ray of hope or even interest in her eyes. She looked so gloomy, that Amy actually lost her spirit there for a few seconds. But then she caught herself and smiled her widest smile.

"I'll bring you to Blaze and Silver and then you'll talk things through. And I'll be the matchmaker!"

Amy was so fascinated by her idea that she completely forgot about the terrible mood of her trainer. And since Amy was so into her role, Violett never really had the choice to say no to this plan. The only thing she could do was to let herself get dragged around by the overactive hedgehog, looking for Silver and Blaze.

**Okay, there'll be a really, REALLY shocking truth in the next chapter and since I've already almost finished it, it shouldn't be taking too long. Little hint; it has to do with Blaze. Want to know about that truth beforehand? Check out my sidestory. It's called Chronicles and it's centered around Lupa. Remember how Violett told everybody about how Lupa became the way she is today? Well, that's pretty much what the story is about. Here's the link.**

** s/8285084/1/Chronicles_Lupas_story**

**As for all the things Silver and Blaze did when they were younger, I'm not going to explain that any further. I've already started writing on Blaze's chronicles, so you will be able to read about what the two experienced everything the two of them experienced all those years ago. You'll also be able to read about her adventures with Violett. That's where the connection with Sonic Underground will come to light just a tiny little bit, although that connection is a LOT bigger than any of you would ever be able to imagine.**


	32. Frustration and Pain

**Okay, since there were no questions this time, I will go on with the disclaimer. I do not own Sonic the hedgehog nor any of its characters. All rights belong to Sega. Only Violett belongs to me**.

"I never would have thought that you of all people could be jealous", Blaze said, smiling weakly at her purple friend.

That friend looked to the other direction, not wanting to meet the cat's eyes. She was right of course, but since this was the first time Violett was dealing with this kind of feeling, she was rather unsure how to act towards Silver and Blaze.

"Am I not your best friend?" Violett asked quietly.

"Of course you are", Blaze answered gently.

"Then what is he to you?"

Up until now, Silver has stayed quiet since he didn't really understand the situation. He just kept sitting next to Blaze on her bed, trying to comprehend what was going on. After all, he had never heard of Violett before and the fact that they were so close confused him. Even now, when Blaze seemed caught off guard did he not say a word. He just watched as his friend closed her mouth and opened it again, at a complete loss of what to say. But that wasn't necessary. Violett smiled very gently at that reaction.

"I see", she said, her voice now hardly more than a whisper.

Now, Blaze cheeks became very red and she turned completely to Violett, who was sitting at her other side, so that Silver wouldn't be able to see.

"You'll always be my one and only best friend", she whispered so he wouldn't hear. "It's just … he is …"

"It's okay", Violett whispered back. "I understand."

She did understand, although she couldn't help but to feel uneasy. After all, her best friend had found someone who was more important to her and it wasn't just anybody. It was the silvery hedgehog, who's presence felt so familiar and yet so unreal. There was no doubt about it; Silver wasn't just any hedgehog.

"Well", Amy, who sitting on the floor in front of them, spoke up. "Now that all this is cleared, is there anybody else in this room who has trouble?"

"Uhmm", Silver finally spoke up. "Actually, I have a tiny problem with Violett."

"Yes?"

"Who exactly are you and what do you have to do with Blaze?"

At that, the two purple females looked at each other and giggled a tiny bit. Amy smiled as well, knowing perfectly well that poor little Silver was completely lost.

"Silver", Blaze started, "do you remember the promise I made you to tell my father about my power?"

Silver nodded, still not understanding where she was heading.

"Well, after I told him, he brought me to the kingdom of hedgehogs. The queen told me to train with the future royal magician and this royal magician just so happened to be Violett."

"She and her brother stayed at the palace for an entire year and we trained together every day."

"It's thanks to Violett that I've become confident."

"And it's thanks to Blaze that I can smile like this."

Although Silver hesitantly said that he understood, it was clear that he was a bit overwhelmed with the new Blaze and the bond she shared with the purple hedgehog. Since it was obvious that he had no clue what was going on, the three females only exchanged meaningful glances and giggled mysteriously.

"Now it's your turn", Violett said. "How do you know each other?"

"Yeah, I'd like to know that, too", Amy smiled.

Silver and Blaze closed their eyes and smiled, as if already lost in wonderful memories of a past time.

"It was many years ago, before I even met you, Violett", Blaze said. "There was this boy, a silvery hedgehog, that appeared out of nowhere in the castle gardens. He asked for food, so I gave him some and snuggled him out before the guards caught him."

"One day later", Silver continued, "I saw that same girl that had helped me so kindly being treated terribly by some older kids. So I stepped in and tried to protect her. But there were too many of them and with the little amount of telekinesis I could use back them, I couldn't defeat them all at once."

"I saved him by hurting the others. I felt terrible because he got beat up because of me, so my flames acted on their own and injured the kids who were bullying us badly. I thought that he would hate me, like everybody else did once they saw my flames."

"But that was nonsense. After all, I had my own problems to deal with, so I knew how she felt. People thought me a freak as well because of my telekinesis. I showed it to her and that's when we became friends. But the world Blaze lived in was not my world and I wanted to go back home. I knew that I got to Blaze's world through two Chaos Emeralds interacting with each other."

"But on my planet, there are only the Soul Emeralds, which only I can use. So we thought that, if we activated those Emeralds together, he would be able to feel if somebody used to Chaos Emeralds and link to that power so that he could go home. It was a stupid plan looking back at it, but it actually worked."

The four of them chatted for quite some time in which they told each other about their pasts with one another. Silver told them about his journey through time with Shadow, Violett told them about the time Blaze spent on her planet and Blaze told them about her adventures with Sonic and his friends from another Zone. The only thing she didn't tell them was of the many years of loneliness after she had come back from Violett's planet. It was quite the merry sight to see, although each one of them still had a weight on their heart. To Amy, it was the fact that she couldn't do anything for Sonic, Silver still felt like a stranger on this Ship, nobody really knew what Violett's problem was anyways and Blaze …

"So Blaze", Silver changed topics. "How are Claws and uncle Kirio doing?"

"He asked you to call him 'uncle' as well?" Violett asked, to which Silver nodded.

Blaze didn't answer for a while, but Violett and Silver were so caught up in talking about their experiences with the princess' family, that they didn't even notice. Only Amy saw that something was wrong. She did have a feeling that she knew why Blaze had become so silent, she just couldn't put her finger on it.

"My father died", Blaze said barely audible. "He died only a year ago."

Silence …

Of course. Both, Amy and Violett, remember now. When they first had come to Blaze's home, a penguin had told them that the King had died and that Blaze's brother was now on the throne. How could they have forgotten?

"I didn't know …" Silver said quietly. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be", there was a bitterness in the cat's voice that none of them had ever heard before. "There is no reason to be sorry for that."

It was something that nobody understood. Violett and Silver had both gotten to know Blaze's father as a very kind man and Amy, who never had any parents, couldn't imagine how somebody could not be sad at their death. And that expression of her didn't speak the same language as her words either. She looked like she was trying to hold back tears.

"Father hated me all his life", Blaze whispered.

"That's nonsense", the silvery hedgehog objected kindly. "Uncle Kirio was always so kind and loving and he looked like he could never hate anybody. And he always looked at you as if he adored you. He protected you when your brother would tease you and he had your every wish come true. I'll never believe that he could even be capable of hating you."

"Yes," the princess said. There was a bitter smile on her face and just a few tiny tears that had started welling up at Silver's speech. "Yes, I thought that too, once."

"Then why …?"

"Silver, Violett, do you remember the pictures I showed you of mother?" The two hedgehogs nodded hesitantly. "She looked a lot like I do, didn't she?"

"She looked almost exactly like you", Violett answered. "When I first saw her picture, I thought it was a future version of you."

"Uhmm", Amy interrupted. "What did your mother look like?"

"Here", Blaze opened her mantle and crammed in pocket of her shirt. "I have a picture."

She handed it to Amy, who took it carefully and gasped when she looked at it. On the picture was a female cat that looked like a grownup version of Blaze. Her eyes were of a striking yellow and her fur was of a shiny, light purple. Her skin was as white as the snow, her ponytail reached down to her hips. She was sitting on an elegant chair, her hands on her laps, looking exactly like a queen should. Her red lips were formed into a small smile and her eyelashes were beautifully long. Even though it was only a picture, Amy could feel the calmness and authority she seemed to emit. The only thing she was missing was the ruby on her forehead. Amy gave the picture back humbly.

"She looks just like you", the pink hedgehog said.

"Doesn't she?" Blaze smiled sadly. "When I was younger, I asked father why there weren't any pictures of me and mother, he said that she died too early to have a picture drawn. Then I asked him how she died. He said that she was in a boat accident soon after I was born."

"That's … sad", Amy whispered.

"It was a lie."

Blaze didn't go on and none of the other three dared to ask her what she meant with that. So there was a long silence in which the princess' first tears fell.

"It was a lie", she said again, her voice breaking. "In his last moments, father told me that he had always hated me and that the only way he had managed to be kind to me was to see me as a younger version of my mother. I asked him why of course. I didn't understand why he suddenly said that. He might have been sick, but his mind was clear, I could see that in his eyes. And that's when he told me the truth about mother's death."

Silver wanted to take the cat into his arms, Violett wanted to stroke her fur and Amy wanted to hold her hands and tell her that everything would be okay. But somehow, everything seemed wrong and all three were at a loss of what to do. So they only stayed where they were, waiting for their friend to go on with her story. They sat there and watched, as Blaze's tears fell one after another.

"The truth. I never wanted to know such a truth", she sobbed. "I never wanted to know that she died because she gave birth to me, that I took fire in her womb and killed her from inside out, that I burned the entire litter, all my brothers and sisters. I never, never wanted to know that!"

Blaze wasn't just sobbing know, she was crying like there was no tomorrow. But Amy and Silver were too shocked to comfort her and Violett bit her lip, being ashamed that she had been all moody because of jealousy when her best friend was carrying such a heavy burden.

"I didn't believe him at first", Blaze laughed bitterly. "I didn't want to believe him. But one of the doctors that took care of him told me that the story was true. And that's when father told me that he had never loved me. He would never have been able to love the child that had killed the person he loved most. He told me that he would have killed me for it if it hadn't been for mothers last words; she had begged father to take good care of me and to love me like she did. She said I was a very special child and that I would grow to be the most wonderful princess. In order to protect me, she gave me the blessings of the Soul Emeralds, which is usually only given to the successor of the throne at his eighteenth birthday. She also gave me the necklace, our kingdom's biggest treasure and it accepted me immediately. And then she died after many hours of unimaginable pain. It must have been like a blessing."

It wasn't exactly easy to understand what Blaze was saying throughout all the sobbing, but everybody got the picture. Blaze had killed her mother before she had even been able to think for herself and the only reason she herself wasn't dead was because the woman she had killed had given her every protection she had been able to think of.

"Of course, father didn't have a choice but to accept me as his child. He fulfilled his promise to my mother and raised me as good as a father could. He pretended to see his mother instead of me so that his hate wouldn't show, but he's never forgiven me for what I've done. And to be honest, I don't really blame him for it."

"But I do!"

All eyes six eyes turned to Silver, who immediately stiffened upon the sudden attention.

"Uhm … I mean, you know … he lied to you your entire life and it's not really like you meant to kill your mother or anything so it's wrong to put the blame on you…" he stopped abruptly, realizing he had said something very, very stupid. "No, no wait, I just mean …"

He trailed off upon seeing Blaze smiling most gently at him. Even though there were still tears in her eyes, they had stopped falling and Blaze had stopped sobbing. He kept on stuttering a bit, not really saying anything until he finally gave up on trying and looked away instead. Upon seeing the small embarrassed blush on his cheeks, Blaze couldn't help but giggle and wrapped her arms around his body.

"Thank you, Silver", she whispered.

Amy and Violett smiled and went to join the hugging. And again, Blaze started crying. But the smile on her face was not talking about pain. She wasn't crying because she was hurting. She was crying tears of happiness; the happiness of having her friends at her side.

"You know what?" Amy disrupted the moment. "I have a great idea."

All eyes turned to Amy this time, who grinned a huge, satisfied grin.

"I don't really have a good feeling about this", Silver muttered uneasily.

**Be honest; how many of you have wondered where Blaze's mother was? After all, in previous chapters, I only mentioned her father's death, her mother wasn't even mentioned and here's the reason why.**

**Next question; how many of knew that Blaze was teased because she couldn't control her fire when she was a child? I did. And once I saw a baby picture of Blaze on DA I thought; 'wait a second, if Blaze couldn't control her fire, then there's no way that there could've been a normal birth' and that's how I came up with this. But that's not all there's to it. Wanna know the entire story? Go check out my prequel Chronicles: Lupa's story.**

** s/8285084/1/Chronicles_Lupas_story**

** Blaze's birth is described in the second chapter.**

**Now, what kind of idea could Amy have come up with? Those who have read my profile should know. All those who haven't have to wait for the next chapter. Please review, I would be very happy.**

**Also, here's something new I'll do at the end of every chapter: Post a few lines from the next chap as a preview.**

"_**Have any of you ever seen Blaze fight?" Sonic asked into the round.**_

"_**That's an interesting power you have there", Shadow grinned back and pushed himself off his wall.**_

"_**You're fast", the hedgehog praised.  
"You're faster", the cat grinned back.**_

"_**You mean they've only been toying with each other until now?"**_

_**The black hedgehog was rolling on the floor, coughing.**_

"_**This is the end of the line for you, cat"**_

"_**This battle is over"**_


	33. Blaze vs Shadow

**Here's another one to my dear reviewer Pandamonium (if anybody thinks he/she's getting annoying – SUE YOU!) Here's the link for the picture of baby Blaze that I mentioned in my last chapter**

** favourites/?offset=264#/d3cxm5t**

**As for the thing with the reviewing … well, I have no clue what that is all about …**

**I do not own Sonic the hedgehog nor any of its characters. All rights belong to Sega**

**Blaze vs. Shadow**

Shadow leaned against the wall, looking more annoyed than exited. Blaze was a bit different. Even though her face was unreadable, the fire of excitement was already burning inside her. The rest of the crew was sitting against another wall, waiting for the battle to begin. It had been Amy's idea to have Blaze and Violett battle Silver and Shadow to get a chance to let out all their frustration. At the same time, everybody would be able to see what exactly Silver was capable of and what Shadow remembered in terms of fighting.

"Have any of you ever seen Blaze fight?" Sonic asked into the round.

"I have", Violett answered. "Years ago when she lived in my place, she trained material arts with me. Although she didn't have any experience whatsoever, she learned incredibly fast, almost twice as fast as I did. Uncle Kirio promised that he would keep on training her. Of course, there was a huge difference in the quality of the trainers, but I wouldn't be surprised if she'd be good enough to keep up with my attacks."

Sonic whistled, impressed what Violett said. You almost see that he would have loved to battle the purple cat in Shadow's stead. Only, had he done that in the condition he was in, Blaze would have won before the fight had even begun. Any kid would have won before the fight had even begun.

"Is this going to start anytime soon or are we gonna stand here all day?" Shadow asked darkly.

Blaze smiled wickedly at this and engulfed her hands in flames. "Let's start."

"That's an interesting power you have there", Shadow grinned back and pushed himself off his wall.

His shoes started shining and Shadow's body was lifted off the ground just a tiny bit. Simultaneously, the purple cat and the black hedgehog got into fighting stance and simultaneously did they charge. Before anyone knew what had happened, the first strike was blown and both of them had taken a hit. Shadow's cheek had a nasty burn while Blaze's arm had a deep cut.

"Did anybody see what they just did?" Amy asked her friends.

"I did", Sonic answered. "Shadow tried using Chaos Sphere, but Blaze threw a fire punch at Shadow before he could launch it, so it only hit her arm."

"But wouldn't that mean that Blaze won't be able to use her arm anymore?" Vector asked.

"This is Blaze we're talking about", Silver smiled. "Who knows what she can do."

On the field, Shadow and Blaze were eyeing each other again, both with the same impressed grin on their faces and the same exited look in her eyes. The ground around Blaze started steaming while Shadow's shoes started sparking. They were both so heated for battle that it was almost scary to look at them.

"You're fast", the hedgehog praised.

"You're faster", the cat grinned back.

"Amy, Ms. Blaze and Mr. Shadow are scary", Cream cried.

This time, Blaze moved first. Her fists both caught fire and every time she punched the air, a ball of fire charged towards Shadow, who dodged each and every single one of them with ease. Only the last one was blasted to shreds by a hit loaded with Chaos Sphere. This had Blaze grit her teeth and she started firing fire balls not only from her hands, but also from her feet. She jumped and turned and twirled and twisted and fired twice as many fireballs as before.

From the look on Shadow's face, this was a bit much even for him. Although he tried dodging and destroying the fireballs, he was completely overwhelmed and was hit by so many, that he was blown back at least ten feet. There he lied motionless for a few seconds.

"Did she actually beat him?" Amy asked Tails astounded.

Tails only shook his head and gestured Amy to keep watching. So she did. She looked at Shadow and watched him as he stood up, hardly a scratch on his body. Blaze didn't look like she was anything out of breath either and since she didn't move this time, Amy guessed that it was time for Shadow to do his move.

And so he did. His hands started sparkling and he charged towards Blaze, throwing one punch at her after another. What none of them had expected was that she was fast enough to dodge them. But Shadow wasn't at his full speed yet so he kept increasing it, making it more and more difficult for Blaze to dodge by the second until Shadow finally landed a powerful hit and sent her flying.

"This is boring", Knuckles moaned.

"Yeah", Tails agreed. "When are they finally going to get serious?"

"You mean they've only been toying with each other until now?" Amy asked shocked. "But, their attacks all looked so powerful."

"They were powerful, but they never meant to hurt the other. They were just trying to get an idea of the opponents skills", Sonic explained to his friend. "I believe the real battle starts now."

Just as Sonic said, Shadow looked as if he really wanted to fight. And as Blaze stood back up, she looked as if she was ready to kill. As they looked into each other's eyes, they both smirked simultaneously.

"Enough playing around", the princess grinned.

"I couldn't agree more."

Again, the two of them charged simultaneously and this time, their fists hit; Shadow's with the force of a Chaos Sphere attack and Blaze's completely on fire. The impact was so strong, that the sheer pressure of it created a wind that almost had Charmy flying. But none managed to get the upper hand, so they were both forced to get back. Having more experience in battle then Shadow, Blaze reacted first. She entwined her fingers and had a huge flame erupt from them, which she slammed on the floor. A wall of fire spread from the floor, all the way to where Shadow was standing. Although he managed to dodge the impact with the dangerous flames, he was immediately charged by the hotheaded princess, who threw one kick after another in a fashion that let her comrades think that she had never done anything else than to practice material arts from the moment she was born.

Shadow was overwhelmed at first, but soon caught up to Blaze's fast pace and caught one of her legs. They stopped to look at each other for only a split second, before Shadow began twirling her around and ultimately throwing her against the closest wall.

Had it been any other than Blaze, it would have been a painful impact, but the cat turned herself in midair and used her fire to soften the it. That way, she landed on the wall in a kneeling position. Without wasting a single second, she shot a flame from her legs again, this time using it as rocket propulsion to shot herself towards Shadow, who was still trying to regain balance from throwing the cat. Exactly that cat had her entire body take fire and this way, she slammed headfirst into the black hedgehog. Shadow fell to the ground and Blaze used his body to jump back into the air and land gracefully on the floor. All this happened so fast, that even Sonic had his problems following.

The black hedgehog was rolling on the floor, coughing. He could not remember ever having been hit this hard, which wasn't a big surprise, seeing that he couldn't remember anything from before he met Silver. With a lot of effort, he gained control of his breath and stood back up shakily. Blaze was a good sport and waited until he was back up. She knew just too well that Shadow wouldn't let himself get beaten from a hit like that. And Shadow proved her right. Although a bit shaken, he seemed more determined to beat the purple cat than ever.

His shoes started sparking again and as fast as Sonic would have, he charged towards Blaze. But this time, Blaze seemed a bit unsure of what to do. She looked from part of Shadow's body to another, trying to figure out what he was going to do by the movement of his muscles. But she couldn't and so, she was completely unable to react. Only as her opponent reached out towards her could she start dodging, but she was too slow this time and so, she took a hard kick from Shadow that had her flying high. Before she fell back to the ground, Shadow grabbed her by the collar of her shirt and kept her above the ground.

"This is the end of the line for you, cat", he growled and his entire body started glowing in a red light. "Chaos Blast!"

And a blast it was. Although not a very wide one, it was more than enough to knock out every opponent as close to him as Blaze was. The red light filled the entire room and all the audience was forced to close their eyes. When they opened it again, they saw Shadow holding a very battered cat in the air, looking rather shocked. Although, there were tiny bits of flames surrounding Blaze's body that disappeared fast.

"You surrounded your body with flames to withstand my blast?" Shadow asked disbelieving and let the cat fall.

"You underestimated me", Blaze huffed. "Just like you underestimated Amy. I'm not done quite yet."

With a boost of fire, Blaze started running almost as fast as Sonic would. She had to in order to use the temporary weakness that Shadow had from using Chaos Blast. She landed on precise kick at each foot, so that Shadow was forced to the ground and couldn't move from his position. Then, she jumped into the air, started spinning and let her body light up again. That way, she became a fire tornado that launched down at Shadow. Just like when Shadow launched his Chaos Blast, everybody thought that this would be the finishing move until the moment the dust from the impact settled.

What they saw was not a beaten Shadow, but a Shadow that had managed to grab Blaze's feet and stop the spinning. Out of surprise, she had even stopped burning. But Shadow's hands had taken a lot of damage. The gloves were completely gone and the hands themselves were red and filled with blisters. The pain from it could be seen in the black hedgehog's face. Ignoring the pain in his hands and legs, he stood up and slammed Blaze to the ground, knocking all air out of her, before he staggered and fell himself. For a few moments, everybody thought this battle had ended in a tie.

It hadn't. Even though she had taken a hit a nearby hit from Chaos Control and had been slammed into the ground after, Blaze fought her way back to her feet. Shadow had taken a strong, burning impact into the stomach, a hit on each leg and had stopped a fire tornado and was slowly standing up again. Both of them stood rather shakily, breathing heavily, but their determination to beat the other was stronger than ever.

"You're a worthy opponent", Shadow said. "Come to me any time if you want to battle. I'll accept with pleasure."

"Your words flatter me, but I usually don't rely on other people and their offers."

"And yet you're a part of this team."

"Only because Sonic and Violett asked me to."

"That doesn't matter right here anyways. It makes no different how good you are, I'm going to defeat you here and now."

"Funny; I just wanted to say the same thing."

And again, they charged at one another, putting every inch of strength they had left into this one last hit. At full speed and with full strength did both punches land on the others face and they both got blown backwards, where they each rolled until they hit the wall. Then, there was complete silence. Not one of the spectators moved. Would one of them get up or would they both stay down? Nobody knew.

Then, after two long minutes, both fighters stirred and slowly, got up. Hardly able to stand did both glare into the other's eyes, both badly injured, both at the end of their powers, both breathing heavily, both shaking like mad.

And then, with a small moan, Blaze collapsed.

The hall was quiet, as none of the watchers really managed to comprehend what had just happened. But Shadow did. Hurting terribly at every step, he dragged himself to the other end of the hall, were his opponent was lying defeated and towered above her.

"This battle is over", he said.

Once these words were spoken, everybody in the hall reacted. Amy and Cream reached the two first and went to went to aid the knocked out cat. Sonic and Tails came last, since Sonic still needed somebody to help him walking.

"That was some awesome fight, Shadz", Sonic grinned.

Shadow just huffed and went to leave the grounds.

"Oh no you don't", Amy said bossy and grabbed Shadow's ear, forcing him to follow her. "You're coming with me. We need to attend to your injuries to."

Too weak to protest, he let himself get dragged around by nurse Amy, snarling dangerously Sonic, who was laughing openly at Shadow for being completely in the pink female's mercy. But he had to stop laughing almost the moment he started, since the pain in his chest was still very much present.

"What a pathetic idiot", Shadow thought out loud before leaving the room.

The two were taken care of quite fast. Amy managed to close the wound on Blaze's arm with healing magic, but everything else went beyond anything she was able to do, so treated them normally. All of Shadow's burns were treated with ointment and were then bandaged. He had a lot of smaller burns, but the two on his cheek and his hands were so severe, that it didn't look like they would heal at all. Blaze's torso got bandaged since there was a huge, nasty looking bruise on her back from when Shadow had slammed her to the ground. There was a big cut on her cheek as well from that last punch and her knuckles were open as well, not to mention the damage she had taken from that Chaos Blast.

Once the two were back on their feet, everybody returned to the training grounds and sat back down. After all, one more battle was to take place and everybody was eager to see how Silver would do against the most powerful member of the team. Would he be able to hold his position against her? Would he be a match for her? Or would he maybe even be able to beat her?

Not only the audience asked themselves these questions, but the opponents as well as they stood facing each other, ready for battle.

**AND THAT WAS THE EPIC FIGHT BETWEEN SHADOW AND BLAZE! Next one will be Silver vs. Violett! Tell me what you think ^^**


	34. Silver vs Violett

**So sorry for the long wait you guys. But I'm afraid it's not going to be the last one. School is seriously keeping me busy, I don't even have time to go to gymnastics anymore. I'll do what I can to keep on writing, but I won't be able to update regularly. Still, I thank all those who have the patience to keep on reading my story anyways ^^**

**Silver vs. Violett**

As the group was waiting for Blaze, Shadow, Amy, Cream and Cheese to return, the hall was filled with the noise of chatter. Every group had their own small conversations everywhere, but they all revolved around the same topic; the battle between Blaze and Shadow. Everybody shared the same opinion, as well. Blaze had turned out to be a strong and fearsome opponent and it was definitely a plus to have her on the team, nobody really wanted to even think about having her as an enemy. And although suffering from memory loss (again!), Shadow still had all his moves down and was as powerful as ever. Now, the only question was left, was how Silver would do against the momentary strongest member of them all; Violett.

The two opponents were already standing on their places, Violett calm and collected with her usual gentle smile on her face and Silver looking rather nervous, as if he really didn't want to be where he was right now. While everybody else talked, they stayed silent, anxious of the upcoming battle.

"Uhhm … are you sure this is a good idea?"Silver asked, his nervousness getting the better of him.

"It's as good an idea as any other", Violett answered. "Are you okay? You seem a little … unsure of yourself."

"That's what I hate most about him", a new, darker voice joined the conversation. "He can never make up his mind."

"How very true", Blaze said as she stepped into the hall alongside Shadow. "He tends to become like that when I'm not around, heaven knows why."

"Just sit down already!" Amy bellowed. "I wanna see the fight."

The purple cat and the black hedgehog exchanged meaningful, almost annoyed glances and sat down next to each other, while Amy sat next to Sonic, clutching to him, which resolved in him rolling his eyes. All the spectators watched the two hedgehogs in the middle of the hall and silence filled the room. That's how it was for a minute. Then another one. Then another one.

"Is this going to start anytime soon?" Sonic asked.

"I am waiting for Silver to make the first move", Violett answered.

"Why me?" Silver said shocked.

"Because it's your strength that we are testing. Don't worry, I'm sure I'll be able to handle anything you throw at me."

Still hesitating, Silver gave Blaze a questioning look and smiled weakly when she gave him an encouraging nod. Suddenly feeling much more confident, the silvery hedgehog shifted his eyes back on Violett, his face now full of determination.

"Alright then", he said, getting into battle stance, "here I go."

Violett instantly stopped smiling and her eyes became cold and calculating. Sonic, Tails, Knuckles and Amy knew that gaze just too well; she was going to observe Silver's every move to figure out his pattern of moving. The very first thing that happened was that Silver's hands started glowing and everybody knew that he was going to use the telekinesis on Violett. But since there was nothing in the hall to throw at her, nobody really knew what he was about to do.

Then, Silver did one swift move with his hands and Violett was thrown backwards. Just in time, she got a hold of herself and twisted in midair, only to land on all fours. The tiara was blown off her head and the two spines that had been held back by it were now hanging loosely into her face. As she looked up, everybody knew that not even she could tell what had just happened.

Then, out of nowhere, five knives, made out of nothing but turquoise light appeared and charged at Violett, who got back to her senses and dodged them all. The look she gave Silver after that was one of completely disbelief.

"You … you can create things with telekinesis?" she breathed. "I don't understand … how's that possible?"

"Good question. I just kind of gather energy until I have the results I wanted."

That had Violett gasp in surprise. "To think that telekinesis can become that strong …" she whispered.

Silver just shrugged and got back into fighting position. That had his opponent get back to earth as well and before Silver could even blink, she charged at him. The male reacted fast and caught Violett in his telekinesis, making her unable to move, no matter how hard she struggled. Again she looked at Silver, but this time, something else was written on her face. For some reason, Violett looked mad.

Using her own telekinesis, Violett took the ring from her neck and put it on her finger. Immediately, about fifty purple light balls appeared around Violett and charged at Silver, who yelped and let go of the purple hedgehog in surprise. Instead, he used telekinesis on himself to dodge the light balls. It was no use. Violett just had them chasing after him and even though he tried to destroy them by sending one blast after another, there were too many of them. Silver gritted his teeth and stopped in his tracks, using his telekinesis to stop the balls from chasing him. The magician tried her best to put enough force into the balls to free them, but Silver just crushed them without even breaking into sweat. Then, he came back down to earth …

… where he was attacked by Violett instantly. And from the looks of it, she was being serious. She punched and kicked and twirled and twisted faster and more skilled that even Blaze had. Silver was so caught off guard that he didn't even have the time to use telekinesis. All he could do was try not get hit. But after the fifth dodge, he got a fist on the forehead, which made him numb for a few seconds, which was more than enough for Violett to land another six hits. Surprisingly, they didn't hurt, but when the mage was finished, Silver's body just collapsed. Before he hit the floor, Violett twirled and used the momentum to kick hard enough for him to smash into the wall.

He fell to the floor and stayed there for a few seconds, before his body started glowing and he floated back into the air. His body seemed to have gone completely limp and he moved only with his mind. But the look on his face told Violett that he was now completely into the battle. A turquoise, nasty looking bubble appeared in front of Silver and charged towards Violett so fast, she didn't manage to evade completely and got hit by it. At that moment, she stopped moving completely.

For a few seconds, Violett didn't move. She just stayed where she was; on the floor, not making a single sound. Silver already cracked a small smile, thinking he had won, when suddenly a pair of big white wings grew out of the mages back. They flapped once, twice, thrice and Violett was in the air. The white hedgehog's smile was gone immediately and his face got serious again. But while he looked serious, his opponent looked absolutely furious.

She made her body changed completely. After two seconds, Silver did no longer look at a purple hedgehog, but at an exact replica of himself. He floated back a bit, taken off guard of suddenly being his own opponent. And unlike him, the Silver replica was able to move.

"That's a dirty trick", Amy whispered.

"But smart", Tails gave back.

Violett was no longer in any mood to play around. Again, she created her purple light balls, but this time, there weren't fifty of them but about five hundred. Although shocked by the sheer number of weapons, Silver kept his cool this time and caught them all in his telekinesis. However, there were so many of them, that he was struggling to keep them under control, let alone crush them.

He felt something move behind his back and turned, only to see Blaze with a pair of white wings behind him, smashing him to the ground with a powerful kick. Then, she disappeared before Silver even started moving. Shadow appeared under him before he hit the ground and punched him into his stomach, making him fly upwards. Then, Shadow turned back into Violett and all the light balls that had survived Silver's telekinesis charged at him again. The time traveler reacted, although being almost blind from pain, and tried to float out of the way. He didn't quite manage to do it and one ball cut open his side.

Violett smirked in victory and Silver noticed. He used that tiny little distraction to catch the light balls in his telekinesis one last time and smashed them towards Violett as fast as he could. Her smirk was gone in an instant and about ninety light balls hit her. Or so everybody thought. Before falling to the ground, Silver caught himself and floated back upwards, breathing heavily, his determined eyes never leaving the dust that he had created when sending his opponents own attacks back at her.

Slowly, the dust lifted. Violett was on her knees. Her ring was gone. Instead, there was a staff she was leaning on that looked very familiar to Tails.

"That's the staff she used to protect me from Eggman", he cried out.

"Exactly", Violett huffed.

Some of the balls must have hit her, although she somehow managed to reduce their damage. There was not a single cut on her, but a lot of bruises and her breathing was almost as heavy as Silver's.

"This staff allows me to create magical shields that protect me from harm. It's not perfect yet, but I'm working on it", she smiled weakly.

Slowly, she stood back up and stopped leaning on the staff. Her eyes were still furious and although her body was damaged, her will was stronger than before. The effect it had on Silver, was visible. His own determination faded and was replaced with fright. His strength was leaving and he was still paralyzed from Violett's seven hits.

Named female took her staff and pointed it towards her opponents. The staff started glowing and changed its shape. It turned into a long slender stick with many carvings. On its end was a big ring that was held tight by many twigs. The inside of that ring started glowing, but Silver didn't move, something that none of the watchers could understand. After all none of them could see the illusion that Silver was caught in.

He saw chains that kept him where he was, making it unable for him to move. And the person he saw in front of him, aiming his weapon at him, was not Violett; it was the grim reaper himself, scarier, colder and more terrible than he could ever have imagined. The presence of death was as close to him as never before.

A beam came out of Violett's staff and hit Silver full force. He lost consciousness and fell to the floor. For as long as three heavy breaths, nobody moved. Violett was the first. Her staff turned back into the familiar ring that she took into her hand. Stumbling and exhausted, she walked over to the limp, silvery body. While approaching it, her dagger formed in her hand. Anger was burning hot in her eyes. Everybody held their breaths, fearing their companion's next move as she stood above the defeated Silver with the dagger in her hand. His eyes opened and he saw the dagger, saw the person that had defeated him, but there was no longer any fear. For some reason, he knew that she wouldn't hurt him.

And he was right. After a few seconds, dagger turned back into a ring, the purple female turned on her heels and left the hall. Feeling Blaze's hands supporting his midst, he shakily tried to stand up, his eyes never leaving the disappearing purple hedgehog. He didn't have to look to know that everyone else was gazing after her as well. In a split second, Silver made up his mind; he would go talk to her … as soon as Amy treated his injuries, that is.

**There we go, all done. Tell me what you think. To be honest, I have a lot in mind for Silver. He's only scratched his potential so far and during the story, he will begin to understand it and use it in many different ways that make him one heck of an opponent. I already can't wait to write the future battle scenes with him.**

**Now, that will be the last fight for a while. There's one more 'filler' before the story will become interesting again. Next planet, new people and Amy and Sonic will be put back into the foreground. Look forward to it ^^**

_**Finally, Blaze just stood still, her eyes fixed on the male in front of her.**_

"_**Violett, are you in there? "**_

_**There was a longing in her eyes, a kind of wish, so strong that Silver was completely overwhelmed, unable to do anything else but to stare right back into them.**_

_**Why was it that he was the only one who could bring forth the girl's hidden emotions? Violett knew. She knew from the very moment she had first laid her eyes on him, but to Silver, it almost unexplainable … almost. It was the need for an explanation that had a weird, yet not so incredible theory build up in his head.**_

"_**I've never seen telekinesis so strong", the purple female said. "I can't even begin to comprehend its limits. In fact, I do wonder if there are any."**_


	35. Talk

**Now, since the spotlight is already on Silver, I'll just keep it there. I do not own Sonic the hedgehog nor any of its characters. Enjoy ^^ **

**Talk**

"Are you sure about that?" Blaze asked her silvery furred friend. "I mean, Violett isn't usually the kind of person who talks about her feelings openly."

"Neither are you", Silver responded.

That had the cat shut up and let Amy do her work. Silver had quite a few serious bruises from his fight with Violett and the pink hedgehog started getting annoyed by all the extra work that kept her away from Sonic and was not exactly treating her latest patient gently.

"OUCH!" Silver cried when she tightened a bandage. "Amy could you …?"

The look he was given was enough to have him shut up and Blaze giggled a tiny bit at his almost scared expression. Amy sure could be scary when in a bad mood, but that somehow made her cute as well. They waited for another three minutes until Amy was done treating him, then Silver started walking away.

"Hey, wait up", Blaze cried and ran after him. "Are you really, really, really sure about that? You saw how she was during the fight. She must have been really angry to actually show it." She asked again when she had caught up.

"I'm completely sure about it. If something's wrong, then you just have to talk about it, right?"

Blaze looked at the ceiling in exasperation and sighed deeply. She just couldn't believe her friend sometimes. For some reason that she just couldn't explain, she had to laugh at this.

"You really are naïve", she said.

She said that often, but he never quite understood why. So he just stayed silent, unsure of what to reply as they walked along the halls to Violett's room in silence. It was an uncomfortable silence and both wished that they could somehow break it. But no matter how they wrecked their brains, none of them could find something to say that wouldn't end up awkwardly. Finally, Blaze just stood still, her eyes fixed on the male in front of her.

"What's wrong?" he asked when he noticed that she wasn't following anymore.

"You know, this is kind of a thing between you and Vi. I think I'd better keep out of it. Good luck."

And she was gone before Silver could even react. He just stood there completely perplexed for a few seconds, not moving a single muscle, his eyes glued to the spot where the princess had just stood. Then, images inverted his mind; images of a very angry Violett and he involuntarily shuddered. He was no longer all that determined about visiting her. But he swallowed hard and turned around again, continuing his way to hell's gate.

„Violett, are you in there?"

The purple's ears perked up. Nobody had dared to come to her room up until now. Why, she had never quite understood. She had never forbidden anybody to come and her companions had been looking for her every now and then. But they had never looked for her in her room. Silver was the very first. She hesitated a bit, unsure if she really wanted to talk with him, but it was her own fault for having lost control over her emotions during the fight. Of course he'd ask her what was wrong. With a big gulp, she swallowed all her pride and welcomed him in.

The first thing that Silver saw when he entered was a pair of light blue eyes that reminded him of the sky when covered with very, very thin clouds. Other than that, nothing could be seen for the room was completely dark. It confused Silver a little bit and he really couldn't build himself an opinion about this circumstance.

"Do you want some light?" the soft voice came from somewhere inside the pitch black room.

"That would be nice", Silver said, laughing nervously.

The purple hedgehog fulfilled his wish and the room lit up immediately. The only question was, if having light was so much better. Violett's room was a complete mess. Even though she couldn't have many belongings, they all seemed to be scattered over the floor, making it almost impossible to walk from one end to the other. The hedgehog herself was sitting on her bed, back leaning against the wall, head leaning on her knees and arms wrapped around her legs. The crown that she had lost was lying next to her; heaven knew when she had retrieved it.

"Uhh …" Silver tried to start off. "Are you okay?"

He was ignored.

A bit unsure of what to do, he looked around nervously and tried walking over to the female without stepping on anything. He didn't manage. Instead, he used his telekinesis to heave himself into the air, landing safely and softly next to Violett. She didn't react and just stared into space. That behavior confused Silver and erased all the possible starts for a conversation that he had put into his mind. For a while, the two just sat next to each other in uncomfortable silence.

The male's eyes darted around Violett's room, scanning all the objects lying on the floor. There were a few clothes, some pencils, a lot of paper, a few empty water bottles, a huge amount of books and a few other things as well. It looked as if she had had a fit of rage and had thrown around everything she possessed. And immediately, an idea came into Silver's mind.

"Should I help you clean up?" he asked and let a few things float.

A few other things floated into the air and Silver was a hundred percent sure that he was not the one doing that.

"I could do that on my own if I wanted to", Violett finally said and all the things that were not in Silver's telekinesis dropped back to the floor.

"So … you want your room to look that way?" Silver asked skeptically and let the things he kept floating drop back to the floor as well. He had forgotten that he was no longer the only one who possessed this ability.

The female nodded and Silver looked at her, not quite understanding what was going on in her mind. On the other hand, Blaze seemed to be the only one who was able to at least guess what she was thinking.

"I like chaos", Violett said quietly. "I feel comfortable in it."

There was another long and uncomfortable silence and no matter how Silver wrecked his brain, he could not find any comment to that. Judging by the fact that Violett was a rather quiet person, he had always thought that she would be very tidy. How that idea came to be, he didn't know, but even now, when she had said that she liked chaos, it seemed to be a contradiction in itself.

At some point, Silver gave up on pondering about it and decided to find another topic to talk about. He didn't have to think at all since his mouth blurted out a question before his mind even managed to comprehend that he had asked something.

"How come you can use telekinesis as well?"

Violett didn't react for a long time. She just kept sitting there, her eyes fixed on something that was never there. The longer she stayed silent, the more Silver regretted his question and the more nervous and anxious he became. And then, just when he thought that the mage would never answer him, she finally started speaking.

"One of my ancestors had this power and I inherited it", she answered.

"So … does that make you … you know … like me?"

That question didn't come out of nowhere. For the biggest part of his life, Silver had been a kind of outcast. It started with his looks; the weird hairstyle that just wouldn't grow in a different manner and the unnatural color of his eyes and fur. That alone had always separated him from other people. Then there was the fact that he had no family, that he had never met any other hedgehogs, that the chaos emeralds reacted to him and of course, his powers. It had always been a burden in his life and it had always made him feel lonely. Even during his travels with Shadow he had always felt this way. The only one who had been able to alleviate those feelings had been Blaze, but they never quite disappeared. And now, thanks to the encounter of a certain pink, noisy, strong, overwhelmingly passionate and very cute hedgehog, he had suddenly found himself in the middle of an entire ship full of extraordinary creatures. And one of them, the one sitting next to him that very moment, just so happened to share his power. The hopes of finding somebody that was like him, that would maybe even know something about where he came from and who he was, was higher than it had ever been before.

"It's quite complicated", Violett answered. "You and I have more in common than you could ever imagine and yet, were are nothing alike."

That brought Silver to a completely new level of confusion. Wasn't having things in common and being similar one and the same thing? And why did he even ponder about that? After fourteen years, he finally got to know someone who might be able to answer some of the questions that had tortured him ever since he was born. He didn't have time to try and make sense out of a magician's strange way of thinking.

"Then can you at least tell me why I have those powers?" He asked, his voice revealing just a little bit of the desperation he felt deep inside his heart. "Can you tell me why they were given to me of all people? And what do they have to do with me and my origins?"

There was no reaction, at least no visible one. Violett was just sitting there, arms wrapped around her legs and forehead resting against her knees. Since there was no longer a crown to hold back her long spines, they fell forward, hiding her face from the silvery hedgehog's view. If only he were able to see her face, maybe he could find an answer somewhere in there.

"Please", he tried again, his voice no more than a whisper. "If there's anything you know, then please tell me. I need to know who I am and where I come from."

Incredibly slowly, as if she every single move took her all the energy she possessed, Violett lifted her head. And when her spines slid away and her face was revealed, all air escaped out of Silver's lungs as if punched right into his guts. There were tears in Violett's light blue orbs and her cheeks were flushed.__There was a longing in her eyes, a kind of wish, so strong that Silver was completely overwhelmed, unable to do anything else but to stare right back into them.

"I …" she started, but shut her mouth immediately. "You …" she tried again, but before another sound could escape her lips, Violett shut them tight.

After that, she opened her mouth and closed it again, repeating that a few times while her eyes darted between his own and the bed, as if fighting with herself to make a decision. Still entranced by that outburst of emotions, Silver was completely unable to react. Never had he seen her behave like that and he was sure that none of his teammates had seen her like this either. In fact, he wondered if even Blaze had ever seen her friend this emotional. And again, a very familiar question bubbled up in Silver's head; why him? Why was it that he was the only one who could bring forth the girl's hidden emotions? Violett knew. She knew from the very moment she had first laid her eyes on him, but to Silver, it almost unexplainable … almost. It was the need for an explanation that had a weird, yet not so incredible theory build up in his head.

"SILVER!"

"Huh?!"

Silver blinked thrice and stared right into the face of the purple hedgehog. There was a soft and gentle smile on her lips and she looked at him with what seemed to be honest concern. Every sign of tears were gone and so was the flush that had tainted her cheeks just moments ago. The change came so suddenly that Silver was no longer sure if Violett showing emotion had been real or just a trick of his mind.

Violett looked back into space, although the gentle smile never left her face. Her façade was up and running perfectly again, Silver noticed.

"I'm not used to being around people", Violett started. "I pretty much grew up in Isolation, trained by one of the most powerful seers in all twelve dimensions. I was trained day and night, physically and mentally and whenever anybody but my master fought against me, I would win without even breaking into sweat. I became so used to this power that I was devastated the first time I lost against Lupa."

"Lupa?" Silver asked.

"That's right, you don't know about her yet, do you?"

And Violett told her companion everything she had told the others. She told him about the twelve dimensions, the dimensional items, about Lupa's story, about what she thought her goal was and about the consequences it would have if she were to succeed. And as she talked and explained, Silver's became quiet and determination started burning in his eyes while all his insecurity left.

"We have to stop her", he said importantly. "We have to stop her or there'll be no future. The future I grew up in, it would cease to exist!"

"That's exactly why we're all here, but let me finish my story. After all, you came here to cheer me up, right?"

Silver's entire face went completely blank as he remembered the reason he had gone looking for the purple furred mage in the first place. The incredulous look that followed made Violett giggle just a little bit and she went on talking to distract him.

"When I lost against Lupa, my entire world turned upside down, but she beat me so often by now, that I'm pretty much used to it. But even after all my travels, Lupa and my Master Pythia were the only ones who had ever beaten me."

"And why are you telling me all this?" Silver asked.

"Silver, have you ever been trained?" Violett asked. "Have you ever systematically worked on your powers? Have you trained combat hour after hour, day after day? Do you even have a clue how exactly your powers work?"

Those questions sounded like an accusation and Silver didn't dare talking, so he just shook his head. But Violett had long known the answer she would get.

"And yet, I almost lost against you. I, who am supposed to belong to the top class of mages and who has trained day and night ever since I was born, was this close to losing to a complete rookie."

A bitter laugh escaped the mage's throat and Silver looked to the ground, unsure of what to think about this.

"It made me realize how weak I actually am", Violett went on. "If Amy would be able to call upon her power as freely as you do, I wouldn't be able to tell if I was the one who'd stand victorious after battle. If Sonic was on your level, I wouldn't stand a chance. And if you had only one year, one single year of the training that I have had during the last fourteen years, you would have been the one to win back there, not me."

"That must be really frustrating", Silver said quietly. "No wonder you became so angry."

"I am very sorry for having lost control out there. I have yet to learn how to react in situations that involve people other than the ones I grew up with."

"Uh … no problem", Silver said, a tiny little bit freaked out at the mage's sudden politeness. "So, Sonic has powers as well? I mean, aside from his super speed."

"Yes, he does", Violett answered. "But it hasn't awakened yet and it doesn't look like it'll happen anytime soon. But what I really admire is your power. Or rather, it's the strength of your power. Telekinesis is a quite common power, but yours is special."

"How's that?" Silvers asked.

"I've never seen telekinesis so strong", the purple female said. "I can't even begin to comprehend its limits. In fact, I do wonder if there are any. I've never, ever heard about telekinesis in itself taking form. And even though you can use your power better than the others use theirs, I'm pretty sure that you've only begun to see the possibilities in using it."

"Really? Can you teach me to use it?"

"Me? My telekinesis is too weak to vary the way of using it, so I have no experience with it."

"Then what am I supposed to do?"

"I don't know. Use your imagination. It's your only limit."

It was another sentence that Silver didn't understand. But just as he opened his mouth to ask what Violett had meant with her words, Tails popped into the room. He was breathing heavily and his eyes were wide with excitement. For a second he just stood there, staring at the violet female.

"Vi," he huffed, "you have to come see this …"

**Ooooohhhh … excitement, excitement. What is awaiting Silver and Vi? Wonders, wonders. Just wait till the next chapter. I already have it finished, so it shouldn't take too long. I'll say just so much; the plot will start to thicken again. **

**Hbee 16, you wondered what had happened in Violett's past? She just revealed a tiny bit of it. Of course you shan't forget that this is only a glimpse. Oh, I can't wait to get to the part where it's all revealed. Same with Sonic and Amy, SQUEEEEL *-***

**Please review, you would make me very, very happy ^^**

**Next chapter: Fateful Encounter**

"_**Now tell me, why would any ice magician live in an environment of incredible humid heat?"**_

_**And finally, after what seemed like an eternity, 8 huge winged creatures appeared out of the trees, speeding high into the air.**_

"_**Hey guys, am I dreaming?" Sonic asked.  
"Unless we're sharing the same dream, I'd say you're awake", Espio answered.**_

_**As the next new voice entered the hall, everybody went dead silent and stopped eating and drinking. And everybody, except for Aria and the members of the Sonic team, bowed deeply. Behind the empress was a creature more magnificent than what anybody had ever seen**_


	36. Fateful Encounter

**I do not own Sonic the hedgehog nor any of its characters. All rights belong to Sega. However, too many OC's have shown up in this story, so I'll no longer bother counting them all. Enjoy ^^**

**Fateful Encounter**

Ice was nothing special in space. You could find a lot of it if you looked in the right places. However, a lot of tiny ice crystals, put together to spell the words '_this way_', was in every way suspicious and nobody really knew what to make of it, especially since it was hovering right above their next destination; the biggest planet any of them had ever seen, completely covered in green.

"Should we follow the sign?" Amy asked.

"Not sure. It could be a trap you know", Tails answered.

"It is quite odd", Violett stated.

"Ya don't say", Knuckles grumped. "A giant sign saying '_this way'_ can't be anything but odd."

"I'm not talking about what the ice says, Knuckles, I'm talking about the ice itself."

"You mean it could be from Lupa?" Rouge asked, shaking at the thought of the red eyes wolf.

"No, definitely not. Lupa can't use ice magic. But the crust of this planet is thinner than that of many others, heating it up from the inside. There's also a lot more fresh water than on most others, turning the entire planet into one huge jungle. Now tell me, why would any ice magician live in an environment of incredible humid heat? And yet, there's a powerful display of ice magic right in front of our noses. It doesn't make sense."

"So …. What do we do?" Amy asked again.

"We follow it, what else?" Sonic grinned enthusiastically.

Everyone's heads turned to him with looks of complete disbelieve on their faces. But Sonic either didn't notice or didn't care. His eyes were set on the ice composition, sparkling with anticipation of the next adventure.

"What're we waiting for?" He cried out. "Come on, everybody. It'll be fun!"

And so it was done. Tails maneuvered the entire ship into the massive amount of tiny ice crystals and after a lot of convincing from Violett, slowly started landing on the crowns of a few magnificent trees. They swayed a bit, but held the ship's weight without further problems, much the young kitsune's relief.

Then, one after another, the crew stepped out. However, not one could bring himself to step on the treetops and stayed on the Typhoon's platforms instead. But the sight they saw had them astonished anyways. It didn't matter which way they looked, the only thing they could see was a green. There were trees everywhere so close to each other, that none of them could see the floor. Only very few trees, spread out through the entire jungle were higher than the others. But the most amazing thing was the steam coming from the trees, floating into the sky. It gave the entire forest a bit of a mystical look.

"It's hoooooot", Sonic moaned. "Why is it so freaking hooooot?"

"We haven't been out here for five minutes and I'm already sweating", Amy cried.

"It's kind of hard to breathe, too", Tails huffed.

"That's the natural environment of this planet", Violett said, seeming almost unaffected by the heat if it weren't for that one drop of sweat dripping down her cheek.

Then, the team waited. What they were waiting for, nobody knew, but Violett was convinced that something was bound to happen after they had been lured here. The longer they waited, the more of them started having problems. After ten minutes of doing absolutely nothing, Cream, Charmy and Jun were sitting back to back, sweating like mad and panting as if they had just run a marathon, while Cheese was lying on Cream's head, doing the same. Sonic, Tails, Violett, Silver and Amy were under the fake palm trees, looking for some shade. Shadow was leaning against a wall, trying to look as though he was unaffected, but the sweat was dripping off his face as well. Rouge had gotten rid of her gloves and boots and even Vanilla had tied her dress up, much to Vectors liking. The only ones who didn't seem affected were the named crocodile, Espio, Knuckles and Blaze. Somehow, they actually seemed to enjoy the heat and bathed in it as though it was the most wonderful thing in existence

And finally, after what seemed like an eternity, 8 huge winged creatures appeared out of the trees, speeding high into the air. Once they were high above the ship, they spread their wings, revealing just how big they were; easily three times as big as Sonic. Every single eye was set on those creatures, watching in awe as they flew above their heads majestically. Then, one of them started flying towards them and landed softly on the ship. And finally, the crew could see one of those mighty creatures up close.

It was a parrot, but it was different from the birds on Mobius. It had wings instead of arms, but it could move the longest feathers as if they were fingers. Its chest was more muscular, its eyes weren't as big and its leg weren't as long. All in all, it looked like a weird mix between the birds on Mobius and the birds on earth and nobody quite knew what to think of the humongous winged creature sitting in front of them.

Knuckles, Vector and Espio stepped back a bit, while Blaze and Violett stepped up to greet it.

"You must be princess Blaze and magician Violett", the bird said and its voice left no doubt that it was male. "It is an honor for me to be the first to welcome you on Aztca. We have been awaiting your arrival. My name is Luxtror, first guard of her majesty, empress Aria"

He touched his forehead with one wing, his chest with the other and bowed, while Blaze and Violett mimicked him.

"We have come to talk to her majesty", Violett spoke up.

"We know why you have come, mistress. And we, the royal guard, are here to bring you to her. Please allow us to carry you and your companions."

With these words, Luxtror lied down on his stomach and held out a wing for Violett and Blaze to climb on his back, where a saddle with two seats was put up. Blaze and Violett silently took up on the offer and climbed on the parrots back. Once the other birds saw that the first two visitors had taken up on their service, they landed as well and got into the same position as their leader.

"Now that's what I call service", Sonic grinned and climbed onto the back of a female, light grey parrot, Amy right on his heels.

Once everyone was seated and buckled up, the birds stood up and spread their humongous wings, taking off simultaneously. They circled around a little bit, giving their passengers time to adjust to the situation, before diving head on into the green mass beyond them.

It was frightening and beautiful at the same time. The parrots were flying too fast for anyone to see more than a mass of green and brown and the thrill was a little bit like that of a roller coaster ride. It went up and down and left and right and soon, everybody had lost their sense of direction - everybody except for Sonic, who was pretty much used to this entire charade.

Then the birds landed on a huge wooden platform that had seemed to grow out of one of the trees themselves. As the Sonic team climbed off the birds one after another, each one needed a few seconds to comprehend what they were seeing. They were in a city high above the ground, on the trees. The houses were different branches of trees that had grown into that form and the streets were branches of different trees that had grown into each other. They had landed in a city made out of living trees. But for some reason, there was nobody out.

"Hey guys, am I dreaming?" Sonic asked.

"Unless we're sharing the same dream, I'd say you're awake", Espio answered.

"You are most definitely awake" a new, calm voice came from behind.

Every single head turned to face the source of the voice. What they saw was certainly not what they had suspected. In front of them was a huge, female Iguana, about twice as big as Sonic, followed by many other iguanas, although none of them was as big as the female at the very front. Also, while all the iguana's were of a dull green color, the females was of a strikingly strong, almost glowing green with white stripes. And she was dressed in a long dress without sleeves, held together on the shoulder, made only out of leaves. In her presence, all the birds repeated the gesture Luxtror had done when greeting Violett and Blaze.

"I welcome you, young adventurers, to my kingdom", the female iguana spoke. "My name is Aria"

?§?

The sun had long gone down and the night was filled with fireflies and moths. But the most important thing for Sonic and his friends was, that the air temperature had cooled down enough for them to be able endure it. It was exactly what the empress had waited for after Jun, Cream and Vanilla had collapsed from the heat. She had told the others to go and rest in her palace, which everybody had agreed to. Somehow, the inside of the palace was nice and cool, as if the trees absorbed the heat. And now that everybody was refreshed, they finally had the time to admire the unique beauty that this planet bestowed.

The biggest hall was where everybody was sitting that very moment, gathering strength from all the peculiar food that empress Aria had her cooks prepare. It was a huge feast in which many people had been invited to celebrate the arrival of the Sonic-team, or rather the arrival of princess Blaze, who had a higher position in the list of monarchs than empress Aria.

As for Aria herself, she was sitting at the head of the table, while Violett and Blaze were each sitting on of her sides, their companions being next to them. There were no chairs to sit on. Instead, there were very soft cushions made out of leaves. Only the empress herself was sitting on a small stool, formed out of a branch of the tree the palace was build on. She seemed perfectly relaxed, watching in amusement as her visitors tried all different kind of dishes, while talking to the different members of the team.

"You have had quite a lot of adventures, haven't you?", Aria said, laughing at Sonic's stories.

"Definitely! But hey! – life's no fun without a good amount of action", the blue hedgehog grinned widely.

"Even though you get hurt like that?" the iguana queen asked, pointing at the bandage around Sonic's chest.

"That? Nah, that's just a scratch. Besides, I don't usually get hurt. This adventure is just a bit more dangerous than the others, that's all."

"They are all quite dangerous if you ask me", Amy huffed. "It was only a matter of time until you got hurt."

"But aren't you a purehearted?" Aria asked again. "If I remember correctly, most purehearted have healing powers. Shouldn't you be able to heal him?"

"Well … that's …. Uhm…"

"Her power has awakened only recently", Blaze answered. "She has yet to learn how to control it."

Aria's face lit up in glee, as a wonderful idea started forming in her mind. She smiled widely and clapped her hands together, making Sonic and Amy, who were already a bit creeped out by the huge creatures' sudden change of mood.

"Then how about that", she beamed, "One of the best healers in this dimension lives not too far away from here. I shall call him over and he will teach Amy the arts of healing magic by having her treat Sonic. Would that be to your liking?"

"That sounds wonderful, your majesty", Amy grinned widely.

"Then I shall contact him immediately", Aria stated and put her hands on the branch she was sitting on while closing her eyes. For a few seconds, she was completely silent until she opened her eyes again and smiled. "All done. He will arrive here first thing in the morning."

"And what did you just do?" Tails asked confused,

"Something that can only be done on this planet; communicate through the plants. You see, this entire forest is covered by rainforest and most of the trees are so old, that they are connected to each other and even communicate with each other. We, the inhabitants of this planet, have learned to use these connections to talk to the trees. That way, we can make them grow in all the shapes and sizes we want, so we don't have to cut any down. But even more than that, we can use those connections to send messages from one part of the globe to the other in a matter of seconds."

"Incredible", Tails whispered amazed. "It's like a natural telecommunication system. Cosmo would have loved it."

The pained look in the young foxes' eyes and the sudden silence amongst the crew members were enough for the empress to know that she should not ask any further questions. Instead, she went back to the last topic.

"You know, you are incredibly lucky to have mistress Violett on your team. Without her, I doubt even the famous Sonic the hedgehog would have a chance against Lupa."

"Why's that?" Sonic asked, pouting at the lack of trust the empress seemed to have in him.

"And why do you keep calling her 'mistress'?" Amy added.

For just a split second, Violett froze before relaxing again and continued eating. Her eyes were closed, as if not wanting to be part of this conversation. Blaze's behavior was similar. She kept her eyes on her meal while her ears darted around nervously.

"Hmm? You don't know?" Aria asked back, obviously confused.

"Know what?" Tails asked again.

"Well, Violett is a part of the royal family of hedgehogs."

It took a while for that news to kick in. If they remembered correctly, the hedgehogs were the kingdom second in line next to the dragons, which meant that Violett was not only powerful in the sense of magic, but also in political issues. Up until now, everybody had thought that her position as a royal magician had given her the power to stand up to kings and queens, but to think that she was actually a processor to the second mightiest thrones in existence was shocking.

"You see", Aria went on, "usually, she would have taken over her grandfather's position as the family's royal magician, but in this case, that won't be possible."

"And that is because …" Sonic trailed off.

"Hmm … where do I start? The three hedgehog families … no wait, I have to go back even farther. The family of hedgehogs is split into three branches; the rulers –the majesties-, the knights –the sirs and ladies- and the magicians –the masters and mistresses. It might be incest, but the hedgehog's blood is so pure that they only have marriages between those three sub-families without ever having any problems. It has been this way for many generations.

"Now, the current hedgehog families used to have seven children, but somehow, all of them disappeared. There are many rumors on how it happened. Some say they have been kidnapped, others say that there is a curse on those children. Whichever the cause might be, only one of the seven hedgehogs stayed behind and is now the last royal hedgehog until the other six are found. That one hedgehog is none other than Violett."

One of Violett's eyes twitched while all eyes turned to her, who had never told any of them about these circumstances. She just kept on eating, as if not even realizing the astounded silence that had spread throughout the members of her team

"Your majesty", she said, completely ignoring all the looks she was given, "the reason we have come here …"

"I know perfectly well the reason you have come here, mistress. But it is not in my place to talk about it."

"If it's not in your place, then in whose place might it be?"

"It is in mine."

As the next new voice entered the hall, everybody went dead silent and stopped eating and drinking. And everybody, except for Aria and the members of the Sonic team, bowed deeply. Behind the empress was a creature more magnificent than what anybody had ever seen. Although it wasn't that much bigger than Sonic himself, its sheer presence was speaking of so much might that not even Sonic was able to defy its reign. His scales were pearly white, only the ones on his stomach were of an icy blue, just like his eyes and a pair of mighty, white wings were folded on his back. He was not wearing a single pair of clothing, not even shoes, but it seemed to fit him perfectly.

"Young adventurers", Aria said beaming, "may I introduce you to Prince Ton, of the ice-dragon clan?"

It wasn't only Blaze's and Violett's eyes that got huge, the rest of the Sonic team weren't able to believe their eyes as well. In front of them was a real, living dragon, one of the most powerful beings in all twelve dimensions.

**Oh, I love dragons so much. I luv'em, I luv'em, I luv'em. Guess that explains why I made them something like the kings of an entire dimension :P. Aaaaaanyways, the reason this planet is a jungle is because Iguana's naturally live in a jungle and I really have no clue why I turned the entire planet into a jungle, but hey, who cares. Yeah, so if any of you have read the Eragon books, you should see a few similarities between the elvish cities and this world. Only that in this case, there's no magic involved.**

**Now, I know there might be a few confusions. I've had this fic in my head so long that the ways of this dimensions are like second nature to me. Therefore, don't hesitate to ask if you want anything to be explained. I will answer, unless I have to spoil.**

**Next Chapter: Biggest Hope**

_**To make it short, she was behaving like a little fan girl.**_

_**The two flinched at the snake's harsh tone, but moved after him, not missing the queen's apologetic look when they left. She knew what a tyrant her healer could be, but he was one of the best and had been the teacher of many successful healers. Therefore, there was no doubt that the two of them were in good hands**_

"_**It's about the reason you are here."  
"The dimensional item …"  
"It's gone. Lupa already took it."**_


	37. Biggest hope

**At HBee16: yes Violett's backstory has a lot of twists, but what you know by now isn't even half of it. And what's even more, her backstory isn't the only one. Just wait until I finished Blaze's Chronicles D And Amy's story is really, REALLY awesome ^^ I still have to perfect Rouge's story though … yeah, a heckload to come.**

**I do not own Sonic the hedgehog nor any of its characters. I only own this story and my OCs (which are a ton by now)**

**Biggest Hope**

„D … Dragon", Violett whispered in amazement.

There were two first times that came with the ice dragon's appearance. The first one was to actually see a real dragon, the second one was to see Violett and Blaze so extremely dazed. Of course everybody knew by now just how extremely mighty and powerful a dragon was, but only Violett and Blaze, who had grown up with that knowledge and the many stories that centered around them, could truly understand it.

The dragon looked fairly young, not older than Knuckles or Rouge. Yet, he seemed to glow with so much confidence and experience that not even Violett could keep up with his presence.

"What's the matter? Did I freeze you?" he joked when nobody moved for almost a minute.

"I … guess that explains the ice in space, huh?" Sonic was the first one to catch himself.

"Haha, yeah I guess it does", he chuckled and sat down on a cushion next to Aria. "Now, are there any Dikonga fruits left? I'm starving!"

He was not what you would have expected of royalty, no matter which way you looked at it. He didn't seem to be like Blaze, who knew of her power and acted the way people expected her to act, nor was he one of those who were bored of having everything you could dream of, nor was he rebellious in any way. Even though the power he seemed to admit was there without a doubt, he seemed more like a normal teenager than anything else.

"So, you are the famous Violett Ocean the Hedgehog, huh?" he smirked and cupped the flustered hedgehog's chin upwards so that she was forced to look straight into his eyes. "I have to say, I kind of expected you to be more like a mean old witch. Now here I sit, looking into the eyes of a beauty. Guess that's a lesson about prejudice, huh?"

Violett's eyes got even wider (if that was possible) and her cheeks turned a bright shade of red. She was sitting on the same table as a dragon and he was flirting with her. It was more than she had ever dreamed of. She giggled nervously and her lips turned into a shy smile. To make it short, she was behaving like a little fan girl.

He put some distance between them and took his claws off the mage's chin, leaving her with a dreamy smile that proved that her insides had turned into mush. He gave her one more wink before he turned to Blaze. Although he didn't touch her, he came pretty close, causing her to blush as well and back up just a little bit. He put his chin on the palm of his hands and grinned right at her, causing her to look to her lap in embarrassment. That reaction caused Silver to pout and look into another direction.

"Let me guess; princess Blaze the Cat, who wields a power so elemental that not even we Dragons are gifted with it. I must say, I do have the best of company tonight."

"Thank you, your majesty", Blaze whispered, also with a shy smile on her lips.

He did the same thing with Rouge and won her over the moment he kissed her hand. Knuckles was boiling with rage, but not even he dared to raise his voice at a dragon. Amy was his last target, but she was immune to his power since her eyes were all on Sonic. But for some reason, Shadows eyes flashed up for an instant before he did the same thing Violett had done only moments ago; focus only on the food in front of him. And just like Violett, he couldn't keep one of his eyes from twitching.

"He's quite the player, isn't he?" Amy whispered to the Aria.

"Well, not even dragons are perfect", the empress whispered back. "But he helped me to lead you here and he _is_ a dragon, so there's nothing I can do."

The party went on until the early morning hours. Ton was spending his time bathing in admiration from all kind of girls (including Blaze, Rouge and Violett), while Sonic kept telling Aria of all the adventures he and his friends had. Of course, Amy was constantly by his side, listening just as closely as Aria did. Knuckles was in a bad mood and kept picking fights with Shadow, who was just as eager to fight as Knuckles. If not for Silver, who kept himself busy by keeping the two apart, they would have torn the entire castle apart. Vector was busy flirting with Vanilla, Espio was talking eagerly with another female Chameleon and Charmy, Jun, Cream and Cheese were enjoying the attention of the many younger and elder women, who were fascinated by the kids cuteness. That way, time was flying by way too fast.

)§)

Sonic didn't even try to shake her hand off. He was way too tired to try and get loose from Amy. Besides, it wasn't like she didn't have a point. He did want his chest to be healed and he did want Amy to learn how to use her powers. Otherwise –and he was sure of that- she would try to leave again. But he was so tired. The sun wasn't even up yet, he couldn't have slept for more than three hours. And the meanest thing about it was that all his comrades were allowed to sleep as long as they wanted. Oh, how Sonic envied them right now.

"Come on, Sonic. Stop falling asleep, we're already late."

Yeah yeah, he knew all that. The healer was already in the throne hall, waiting for his patient and apprentice to arrive. How Amy could be so hyper this early in the morning went beyond anything that Sonic could understand. She dragged him through the hall as if she had lived there all her life, burst through the doors to the hall, where the empress and the healer were waiting.

"You're late!" the healer barked the moment Amy stood in front of empress Aria's throne.

The healer was a snake. It was a huge snake of a poisonous green, but with striking red eyes and judging by the wrinkles on its face, it wasn't exactly young. The front part of its body was upright and that alone made it as big as the queen when she was standing. For a second, fright coursed through Sonic's and Amy's veins and Sonic was awake immediately. When they realized that the snake was the one who would help them, they relaxed.

"Don't be like that, Likstrus. They've had a long night."

Sonic and Amy's cheeks burned in embarrassment, knowing perfectly well that they had screwed up. Then there was also the terrible stare from Lixtrus, that made the two of them feel like naughty little children.

"Whatever", Likstrus growled and started moving past Sonic and Amy, towards the doors, only to stop and look back when he noticed that the two hedgehogs hadn't moved yet. "You following me or what?"

The two flinched at the snake's harsh tone, but moved after him, not missing the queen's apologetic look when they left. She knew what a tyrant her healer could be, but he was one of the best and had been the teacher of many successful healers. Therefore, there was no doubt that the two of them were in good hands.

The snake led the two hedgehogs into a room that looked a little bit different than any other room; it was almost completely empty, except for a very elegant table that, like every other piece of furniture on this planet, had grown out of the tree and it was cushioned with crumbled leaves. The walls were filled with holes, so that a lot of light was shining into the room. There were a few pieces of furniture at the walls that looked like desks. But the most amazing thing in Sonic's and Amy's eyes was the small waterfall that came through a hole in the room and disappeared through another hole in the wall. The soft plash that the waterfall created had an incredibly soothing effect.

"Lay down", Likstrus said to Sonic and he obeyed immediately. "You there", he pointed at Amy with the tip of his tale, "take off hisss bandage."

She didn't like his tone and pouted at it, but didn't dare arguing and did as she was told. Soflty, almost lovingly, she took off the blue hedgehog's bandage, sharing all kinds of meaningful looks with him. The snake meanwhile, went to the waterfall and held the tip of his tale into it, before he crawled to Sonic, examining his wound from the back and the front.

"Thatsss a ssseriousss wound", Likstrus hissed. "It'sss a wonder that you sssurvived it at all. You should thank the girl for sssaving your life."

Sonic gulped heavily and shot Amy a thankful look, which she returned with a proud smile. Then, Likstrus put the tip of his tail on the wound and he and Sonic froze, as if paralyzed. They stayed that way for a few painful minutes in which Amy's eyes darted from the snake to the hedgehog nervously. Finally, after what seemed like a small eternity to Amy, Lixtrus removed his tail, while Sonic was trying to catch his breath again.

"Hmm, that's an interesssting ssstory," Likstrus mused and only the hint of a smile found its way to his lips. "You have a powerful protector, boy. Shadow magic isss almossst imposssible to fight." Then he turned to Amy. "You have a lot of potential, girl, and even more gutsss. I think I'll be able to work with you."

The female smiled proudly and left her corner to join the old snake's side, eagerly awaiting her first orders.

$/$

"I would never have thought that a niyubi could love flowers so much."

Tails spun around, his heart suddenly beating ten times faster. Aria was standing behind him, smiling a gentle smile at the young kitsune, who looked away. He had been spent all morning staring at the many flowers that could be found all over the forest. Being caught by the empress like that wasn't really something he liked, especially since his thoughts had been far away.

"I had a friend once who loved flowers and plants. Well, she was a plant too, a Seedrian to be precise, so was only natural that she would love them so much. Only whenever I see them, I have to think of her."

"Is it this Cosmo you mentioned last night?" Aria asked.

Tails nodded slowly.

"I know what happened to the Seedrian. All the big royals do. After all, they were the eldest clan in the entire Zone."

"There is a list of the eldest clans?" Tails asked astounded, which made Aria laugh.

"There are lists for all kinds of things, young one. Violett's family for example, is the second in row of the eldest royals, the eldest knighthoods and the eldest mages. And not even I know how far the dragon's overview goes."

There was a long, although not exactly uncomfortable silence after that, in which Tails got lost in his thoughts, dreams and memories once again. When Aria realized that the young fox's eyes were clouded, she smiled to herself and left him alone. Yes, she knew all about the Seedrians. She had been a big fan of them when she had been small. And she also knew the one secret about them that could bring back Tails' smile. Surely, Violett would tell him soon. It couldn't be long anymore.

/$/

The rain was a lot louder than the small waterfall and it fell a lot heavier. It cooled the forest down only a little bit, enough for Amy to recover from the hard work that Likstrus made her do. Just like Violett, he had practiced using her second face with her, but unlike Violett, he had a lot of experience as a trainer and the way he had pushed her brought her to her limits over and over again. Only the thought of being able to heal Sonic was what kept her going.

The blue hedgehog, meanwhile, was sleeping peacefully on the table in the middle of the room, not even hearing the snake talking with the dragon and the purple hedgehog that had entered the room a few minutes ago.

"Shadow magic, huh? I almost thought so. But I can't explain where Lupa got it from", Violett mumbled more to herself than to the two males.

"Neither do I. But you picked a good companion with Amy, ssso you should be alright anywaysss. She can nullify shadow magic without problemsss."

Violett looked to the meditating female that was sitting in the corner of the room. She was so caught up in her task that she didn't even react to anything they said. Likstrus had instructed her to shut down all of her senses. It was a very familiar task to Violett; she had done it a lot when she had been young.

"How is she doing?" Ton asked.

"She reliesss far too much on other sssensesss and that blocksss her second face. It will take many yearsss until she will be able to really ussse it and I can only teach her ssso much in the short time that we have. And if she doesss heal, it will take a ridiculous amount of mana and concentration."

"And how much will you be able to teach her?" Violett asked as well.

"Not more than to clossse woundsss and she won't even be able to perfect that. I will have to heal the inside of Sonic'sss chessst myssself."

"I see", the purple female said tonelessly. "I thank you for all your troubles. Please excuse us."

Without hesitation, she turned on her heels and left. Ton grinned one last time at the huge snake before he followed the mage out of the room. With a single flap of his mighty wings, he had caught up with the purple female and walked next to her. His presence still flustered her and she didn't dare looking at him.

"There is something I have to tell you", the dragon said and for once, he was being serious.

"Something to tell me?" Violett asked shyly.

"It's about the reason you are here."

"The dimensional item …"

"It's gone. Lupa already took it."

"And you're not the only dragon that has been send out, right?"

"No, I'm not. The Lions and Sharks reported the stolen dimensional items and the Acorns reported your visit. You came just in time, too. Lupa broke in and killed the entire royal guard just after you left. After that, the main family decided to send us out to every kingdom to stop Lupa and help you. We're all in contact, so that everyone knows what's going on in which dimension."

"So all dragons know that we have arrived here?"

Ton nodded.

"And do you know how many items Lupa has?"

"Three so far, but I believe that she's already on her way to the monkeys."

Violett was silent for a while after that. Her eyes were clouded while she walked next to the dragon. It was no different with him. He had had enough privacy to think about the situation, now he gave the magician the time she needed to think over her next step. From all he'd heard, she had been trained by none other than the legendary Pythia herself, therefore her analyzing abilities were bound to be stupendous. It was only when she let out a deep sigh that he picked up the conversation again.

"You seem to put a lot of hope on the purehearted", the dragon smiled, "more then on Sonic, even though he seems to be a lot stronger."

"He is, but Sonic has an exceptionally strong key that prevents his power from awakening."

"Really?" Ton asked, tilting his head to the side a little. "I haven't noticed any key."

"Neither have I. It's a real mystery, really. In fact, Sonic himself is a mystery. I can't even begin to see through him. It's like his head is surrounded by an iron wall."

"And until this mystery is solved …"

"Until this mystery is solved, I have to put all my attention on Amy. She and she alone is our biggest hope."

**There, all done ^^ So the very first dragon you guys got to meet is a player and of course, the very first the crew does when going to a new planet is to PARTAY! And now that they have a real healer, Sonic will be back on his feet very soon. Look forward to it! I know I do :'D**

**So yeah, Lupa and the Sonic team are even now when it comes to the number of Dimensional Items. And if you remember, there are exactly twelve of them, which means half are already taken. The story, my dear readers, is progressing and from here, it'll only get more intense. *Sigh*, I can't wait.**

**Next chapter: One step ahead**

_**Lixtrus sighed deeply, which was enough for Amy to know that she had failed once again.**_

"_**Why haven't you told him yet?" the empress asked, making Violett stop in her tracks and turn around.  
"Are you talking about Tails?"  
"What am I supposed to tell him?"  
"What he should know about Cosmo."**_

"_**Young man, I am personally going to make you suffer if you don't obey me!"  
"Hah! Ya have to catch me first", Sonic laughed and started speeding around again.  
"Damn that hedgehog", the old snake grumbled. "Go catch him! NOW!"**_

"_**We have to depart as soon as possible."**_


End file.
